Police warn of danger at abandoned Nottinghamshire Debenhams building

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 29 Oct, 14:18 · Archive

Nottinghamshire Police say someone could die at the abandoned Debenhams building in Nottingham after youths repeatedly accessed the roof.

Nottinghamshire Police have warned that the abandoned Debenhams building in Nottingham poses a serious danger to life after officers found new access points at the site. Young people have repeatedly accessed the roof, most recently on 22 October, leading to a closure order which has been extended until 20 November. Two boys, aged 13 and 15, were arrested on suspicion of entering the closed premises in breach of the order.

Chief Inspector Kylie Davies said the building was "extremely dangerous". She warned that scaling the roof puts people "quite literally" on the line, and that falling or structural damage "will be catastrophic". Police said they are limited in what they can do to punish those accessing the building and are exploring youth injunctions for those involved.

The site owners, who purchased the building in 2017, previously said they had strengthened measures after six boys were arrested for accessing the roof in July 2025, saying new measures would prevent similar incidents. However, youths continued to breach the site. Police are now working with the owners and Nottingham City Council to better secure the building. The Debenhams store closed in May 2021 as part of wider closures across the chain, and no official planning application for the site's future has been submitted since.

How it is being reported

• Fresh measures to secure derelict Debenhams buildingNottinghamshire Police's Kylie Davies says buildings like Debenhams are "extremely dangerous".BBC Nottingham · 29 Oct, 13:43
• Nottinghamshire Police says someone could die at Debenhams building as new 'access points' foundPolice say they are speaking to the owners of the site - and are working on tougher new measures to prevent people from accessing the buildingNottinghamshire Live · 28 Oct, 16:48

In this story: Nottinghamshire Police · Nottingham · Debenhams

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