Bournemouth emporium receives permanent retail planning

The former Molly’s Den, now re-branded The Den under owners Megan Noble and James Irvine, has been operating from its Francis Avenue industrial unit under temporary planning permission since 2012.

The Den is described as an ‘extraordinary emporium based on the beautiful south coast that is full to the brim with interesting & wondrous finds, housing more than 100 individual traders.”

Now, the trading space has been granted permanent permission.

The Den offers vintage antiques, retro collectables and ‘all things from eras gone by’.

As well as a trading hotspot, The Den hosts The Kitchen, a popular café.

Co-owner James was overjoyed at the announcement and said: “Having permanent planning is a real game changer for everybody.

“We're all so, so, so happy because every three years, we don't know whether we're going to be here for another three years, so it's really tough because we've got so many plans for the space.

“We've never been able to really commit to any of them. It has been a really tough few years.

“We didn't want to invest our money into a centre that could be no longer able to operate through this time.

“But now, we can invest in making the centre better. We have many plans for the business, we want to add a brand-new kitchen, and café and fix up the car park.

“We have always been given 3 years previously, so permanent permission is massive news to us.

“There is a clause though that it's permanent but only as long as it's vintage, retro and antiques.”

The news also means that over 100 traders can continue to sell their items to customers across the county.

The Den can be found on Unit 9, 11 – 15 Francis Avenue, Bournemouth.

This comes after the news that a nearby emporium is opening in New Milton at Redcliffe Garden Centre.

The new selling space will feature a capacity for more than 200 stalls.

The Hampshire-based emporium is expected to throw open its doors to the public on July 1.