Hastings Owens soft play area on offer to let

The first floor, which is kitted out as a children’s soft play area, can be rented for £33,000 per annum and is being advertised via Dyer & Hobbis commercial property agents.

It said the soft play equipment is also available ‘by separate negotiation’.

The estate agent is billing the advertised space, which covers around 4,600 sq ft, as a ‘fantastic town centre children’s soft play opportunity’.

It said: “(The) first floor within a former department store/entertainment venue (is) arranged as a children’s soft play space with function rooms off, accessed from Robertson Street. The soft play equipment is available by separate negotiation.”

The former Debenhams building in its entirety has been available to let via Dyer & Hobbis since November last year following the closure of Owens.

The property covers around 80,000 sq ft.

Moxie Management Two Ltd, which bought the site in January 2020, said last October that it was looking at a number of potential uses for the property.

Owens opened at the former Debenhams building in Robertson Street in October 2022. It was awarded funding from the Towns Fund investment after being added to the Hastings Town Deal programme in summer 2022 with the aim of creating 35 new jobs.

The Towns Fund was announced by the Government in 2019 and set up to support an initial 101 places across England to develop a Town Deal proposal for regeneration.

However, in September 2023 Owens put out a statement saying the attraction was closing ‘due to unforeseen circumstances’. And at the end of November that year, Owens said the venue was expected to remain shut for ‘up to a year’.

Last September, wooden boards were placed all across the rear and front of Owens.