ONE of Oxfordshire’s last remaining department stores is planning a reorganisation which could see sales areas turned int flats.

Pettits in Wallingford, which has been in the town for 155 years, wants to create 12 flats on its upper floors in a move which the owner – ex-honey boss Richard Rowse – believes will help sustain the iconic store’s future in the town. In the plan submitted to South Oxfordshire District Council, the toy and household departments would move. A staircase dating back to the 1950s will be removed from the St Mary’s Street store to create more ground floor space.

The planning application states: “Pettits requires radical reorganisation in order to remain commercially viable.

“It is our view that the disappearance of this much-loved local company would represent, in itself, the loss of an important aspect of the heritage asset, of far greater consequence than the proposed alterations to the building.”

It adds: “This application would involve the removal of staircases no longer required which would then allow more use of the ground floor. Much of the existing floor space is currently underused, with the majority of the sales being made at ground floor level.”

Some of the flats above St Mary’s Arcade will be built in offices no longer used by the store. The plans have been sub-mitted by owner Richard Rowse and follows a refurbishment four years ago.

Mr Rowse, who is on holiday at the moment, was unavailable for comment.

But Mayor of Wallingford Colin Dolton, who worked at Pettits for 13 years after leaving school, said: “I am sure the town would support anything that keeps the store going and improves facilities there.”

Lynda Atkins, member for Wallingford on Oxfordshire County Council, said: “Pettits is a Wallingford institution, so people will be watching these plans with great interest.

“Everyone is very fond of Pettits. It’s an old-fashioned department store and it needs to be made relevant to today in a way that preserves the essence of it. I am very hopeful that this will safeguard the future of Pettits.

“With all the new retail models, including shopping online, Pettits looks back to a previous age and is part of the character of the town.”

Pettits was established on March 6, 1856, by William Pettit, who came from Newmarket, Suffolk, where his father was a saddlemaker.

The store remained in the Pettit family until 1987, when it was sold to the Rowse family, which ran Wallingford-based honey manufacturers Rowse Honey.

Richard Rowse ran Rowse Honey until it was bought by Wellness Foods for an estimated £70m in 2006.

Pettits is the only department store in Wallingford, with over 20 departments covering three floors. Mr Rowse also owns Champions hardware store in St Mary’s Street, which has also been refurbished.

Pettits is one of the few remaining department stores in Oxfordshire, along with the likes of Boswells in Oxford and Beales in Chipping Norton.

affrench@oxfordmail.co.uk