Photos show demolition of iconic The Body Shop pagoda-style building in West Sussex town is almost complete

The iconic pagoda-style building on Watersmead Business Park, off Norway Road, started being taken down last month, and now there is only one side of the building left to go.

The clearing of the site comes as plans were submitted to redevelop the space – which also includes two former Amazon warehouses – into nine separate retail units.

There would also be changes to pedestrian-route and road layouts, planting areas including a pond, more parking spaces including EV bays, and ‘sustainable’ drainage infrastructure.

The plans say the HQ’s removal will also reduce the ‘apparent bulk’ of the site from Norway Lane and the A259.

Details of which retailers might be opening have not yet been revealed, but Hallway Properties announced the first steps in a proposed redevelopment project that would pave the way for a ‘new wave of shops in Littlehampton’. What they have said is the plan will feature ‘some of the biggest names in retail’.

It comes after news at the end of last year that The Body Shop was relocating its head office to Brighton. The company, a stalwart of British high streets for almost 50 years, opened its first store in Brighton in 1976.

Founded by the late, Dame Anita Roddick, the little green shop went on to become a global phenomenon, scaling to over 1,900 stores, in 75 countries. The Body Shop pioneered a new approach to selling cosmetic products that was totally at odds with the norms of the industry, putting ethics and sustainability at the heart of its products.

There have been calls for a tribute to the late Dame Anita on the site.