Ipswich Borough Council has acquired Waterloo House, the former Debenhams building on the Cornhill, as part of its commitment to revitalise Ipswich town centre. Vacant since the closure of Debenhams in 2021, the building has been a longstanding blight in the town centre.
Waterloo House occupies a key position at the heart of the town centre. The Council believes that leaving the building vacant would continue to undermine confidence, weaken the trading environment for nearby businesses, deter investment and reduce the impact of the wider regeneration work already taking place around the Cornhill. The acquisition gives the Council control of this strategically important site in the heart of the town centre.
Councillor Neil MacDonald, Leader, Ipswich Borough Council, said:
"Waterloo House is one of the most important buildings in Ipswich town centre, but for too long it has stood empty in a location that should be full of life. We have already invested in improving the public realm, bringing empty buildings back into use and supporting new businesses and attractions. Acquiring Waterloo House will now allow us to tackle one of the biggest remaining challenges in the town centre.
"This is about taking direct action where the market has not delivered. By bringing the site into Council ownership, we can remove a long-standing blight, unlock future redevelopment and create an opportunity for something much better for Ipswich.
"Our ambition is to work with future development partners to deliver a scheme that meets the needs of Ipswich, supports economic growth and contributes to a vibrant town centre that residents can be proud of."
Many former Debenhams stores remain vacant nationally. The Council has undertaken an assessment of the building's condition and future viability. Bringing Waterloo House back into productive use would require significant investment and would not be financially viable when taking into account future rental income.
The strongest emerging approach is a developer-led design competition to identify a partner capable of designing, funding and delivering a viable mixed-use redevelopment of the site. Unlike a traditional architectural design competition, where architects submit concepts for consideration, a developer-led design competition invites full development teams to come forward with proposals that they can design, fund, secure planning permission for and ultimately deliver.
Developers would work alongside architects, planners, cost consultants, funders and delivery partners to submit comprehensive proposals. The successful bidder would not simply be selected on the quality of the design, but on their ability to demonstrate that the scheme is financially viable, deliverable and capable of securing the investment needed to bring it forward.
This approach reduces the risk of selecting an attractive but undeliverable scheme and instead helps identify a preferred development partner that can take the project through planning, funding and construction. The long-term ambition is to create a modern mixed-use development that supports a thriving town centre, brings more activity to the Cornhill, improves connectivity across the town centre and contributes to a stronger future for Ipswich.
Jack Abbott MP, Member of Parliament for Ipswich, said:
"The acquisition of Waterloo House is another important step in the wider regeneration and investment programme of Ipswich's town centre. It sits in a pivotal location, but this empty building has left a scar on our high street for half a decade and I know how desperately local residents want it to be given a new lease of life.
"With that in mind, I am delighted Ipswich Borough Council are using Government funding to take ownership of the building as a flagship project for the town centre's regeneration.
"I am clear that the aim cannot simply be to replace an empty building - we must create a vibrant, sustainable and attractive destination in the heart of our town that supports the future growth and prosperity of Ipswich."
The acquisition has been funded through the Government’s Local Regeneration Fund (formerly the Towns Fund).
Strategic Context
The acquisition and redevelopment of Waterloo House directly support Ipswich Borough Council's Proud of Ipswich Corporate Strategy, in particular Priority 1: A Thriving Town Centre.
The Council's vision is for Ipswich town centre to be the heart of the community, a place where people feel safe and welcome, can access services, enjoy culture, socialise and spend time. Recognising that town centres must evolve to meet modern needs, the Council has committed to supporting a diverse mix of retail, leisure, hospitality, cultural, residential and employment uses.
As part of this approach, the Council has committed to taking direct action where necessary, including acquiring strategically important properties, to support regeneration and safeguard the long-term future of the town centre.
Cornhill Strategy
The redevelopment of Waterloo House also aligns with the Council's Cornhill Strategy, which sets out a vision for the Cornhill as:
- A vibrant, busy and enjoyable destination
- A clean and safe place for everyone
- Surrounded by fully occupied and active buildings
- A key part of the town's day-time and night-time economy
- An inviting place where people want to spend time
The strategy includes a commitment to bring vacant buildings back into beneficial use, including through acquisition and intervention where appropriate.
Investment in the Cornhill
The Cornhill has been at the heart of Ipswich for centuries and remains one of the town's most important civic and commercial spaces. In recent years, Ipswich Borough Council has made significant investments to increase footfall, improve the visitor experience and encourage further private sector confidence in the town centre.
These include:
- The comprehensive regeneration of the Cornhill public realm, including fountains, landscaping, seating, events space and digital installations.
- The acquisition, restoration and reopening of the Grade II listed former Post Office building, now home to The Botanist, which has become a major visitor destination since opening in 2022.
- The acquisition of the Grade II listed Lloyds Bank building in 2023 to safeguard its long-term future and contribution to the town centre.
- The purchase and rapid refurbishment of the former Grimwades building, which welcomed Jamaica Blue in 2025 and later attracted international jewellery retailer Lovisa.
- Investment in the upper floors of the former Grimwades building, enabling Suffolk New College to establish a new education and skills facility.
- Installation of the UK's first Portal sculpture in 2025, connecting Ipswich with communities around the world through live digital interaction.
- The introduction of immersive digital binoculars showcasing Ipswich's Victorian heritage.
- New landscaping, planting and seating at Princes Street to enhance the southern approach to the Cornhill.
- Planned improvements to Lloyds Avenue and Lloyds Arch, creating additional green space, pedestrian-friendly areas and opportunities for business growth.
Local Regeneration Fund
The Local Regeneration Fund, formerly knowns as the Towns Fund, is a scheme launched by the Government for towns such as Ipswich to boost economic productivity and support sustainable growth. This is through investments in urban regeneration, digital and physical connectivity, skills, heritage and enterprise infrastructure. Ipswich was awarded £25m of funding in 2021 to give an economic boost to the town.
Why Waterloo House Matters
Waterloo House occupies a highly prominent location overlooking the Cornhill and forms part of an important group of historic buildings surrounding Ipswich's principal public square. The building has been vacant since Debenhams closed in 2021 and has become a long-term blight on the town centre.
Using funding secured through the Government's Local Regeneration Fund (formerly the Towns Fund), the Council has acquired the site to unlock its future potential, remove a significant vacant building from the heart of the town and support wider regeneration objectives. The redevelopment presents an opportunity to bring this strategically important location back into productive use, contributing to a more vibrant and economically successful town centre.
Waterloo House
- Most of the existing Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing systems have been stripped out and the ones retained are dated, with systems exceeding their design life span. It is assumed that most of the systems were installed when the building was constructed in the 1970s.
- The building has no heating, cooling or ventilation systems. The tenant services have been stripped out and removed from site. The existing mechanical plant room has been stripped out of all services.
- The domestic hot and cold-water systems including pipework have been stripped out in its entirety back to the street mains.
- The above ground foul drainage systems that serve the WCs, sinks and wash basins have been stripped back to the main foul drainage pipes routed at high level.
- The gas supply has been stripped out in its entirety out of the building back to the street main pipes. There is no gas supply to this building
- The existing lighting installation in the ground floor area has been retained. However, the existing lighting in the basement, first and second floors have been stripped out in its entirety.
- The fire detection and alarm system have been stripped out in its entirety, and any existing detectors are not functional.
- The building was provided with four lifts, three of the lifts have been removed, the one that is in use is manually operated.
- The building was served by escalators between each floor. these have been removed, leaving behind voids within the intermediate concrete floor slabs
Debenhams Estate
The former Debenhams estate remains a major national regeneration challenge, with more than half of former stores still vacant in the last published 2024 list. Where sites have been brought back into use, successful examples tend to fall into a few clear categories: large-format retail, leisure and entertainment, health and wellbeing, education, residential, or mixed-use redevelopment. Reuse of existing buildings is possible, but usually only where there is a strong occupier, major institutional use, or a comprehensive redevelopment model. Many sites have been demolished and replaced with residential-led mixed-use schemes, underlining that large former department stores often need significant rethinking rather than simple retail reoccupation.