Central England Co-op has been given planning approval for a new travel store in Beccles, Suffolk.
The society lodged plans at the start of the year to take over the Grade-II listed site, previously occupied by Coral bookmakers. East Suffolk Council has now given the society the green light.
Its travel store had previously been housed in Beales before the department store’s closure.
A spokesman said: “As a society, we are always looking for exciting opportunities to open new travel stores for the benefit of our members and customers.
“As part of this work we have to begin planning for potential sites months, sometimes years, before a decision to proceed or not to proceed even takes place.
“This process has been accelerated in Beccles following the closure of the Beales department store, which housed our travel store in the area.”
The news comes as the Covid-19 pandemic throws uncertainty over the future strength of the travel industry.
A spokesman said that co-op members would be informed first of any future plans regarding the site.
