It has been four years since the former British high street giant Debenhams closed its last store. this Brands still exist onlinebut what else is there in the hundreds of brick and mortar stores that have been spread throughout the UK?

The once loved department chain has been dealing with it for more than 200 years from its physical stores and is still opening until 2017.

But big stores are slowly suffering from falling profits and rising debt as more shoppers move online – after the coronavirus lockdown indicates death to Debenhams and many other businesses.

In town and in the city center, most of the streets are empty, but some shops have Renaissance – including bowling lanes and future lab spaces.

The BBC News explores what happened next in Debenhams’ old store in East England.

In the large market town of Northampton, a department store called Adnitts (owned by Adnitt Brothers) first opened on curtains in 1871.

Eighty years later, Debenhams purchased it and rebuilt the site in the following years, with its name finally above the doorway in 1973.

During the golden age of high street shopping in 1991, the store became well-known when it appeared in the popular BBC sitcom.

In the famous scene, Hyacinth and her unfortunate husband Richard are forced to rescue "Dad" from the store while he is dressed in astronauts.

About 30 years later, on May 8, 2021, the town center store closed during the peak of the Covid pandemic, but the vacant lot left behind was brief.

Plans quickly proposed plans to demolish buildings and establish student accommodation in their locations.

The local council approved the idea and the work was completed last October.

On nearby Abington Street, a similar fate awaits the former BHS and Marks & Spencer building, which will be demolished later this year to create more apartments.

About 100 miles east of Ipswich, the former Debenhams store lives in a four-story building in the heart of the city center.

The store overlooks Cornhill, a public square that has received millions of pounds of investment in recent years, but the store that once owned gaming arcades on the top floor remains empty and surrounded by metal fences.

The Borough Council describes vacant Waterloo houses and buildings as "blight" in the city center.

The council claims that UNEX, the owner of the building, rejected several applications from the "famous retailer" to take over the site.

It has sought comment from UNEX, but has previously stated that pedestrian plans need to be developed to get a good deal.

Local shopper Callum Kempton told the BBC that the empty buildings changed his feelings about his hometown.

"It's so desolate to see it disappear because it's the cornerstone of the people coming in, it's just emptying the town away from it," he said.

Graffiti-covered wood panels adorn the former Debenhams store in downtown Norwich.

The store opened in the 1950s and has been empty since 2021 after the collapse of the chain.

Similar to Northampton, the developer has developed plans that will knock most buildings down to create student accommodation and have 407 rooms and shops on the ground floor.

However, historic England raised objections, saying the characteristics of the downtown reserve would be hurt, and it was close to buildings such as Norwich Castle.

An application was filed in January 2024, but no decision has been made.

In the western part of the county, King Lynn downtown stores are also still open.

It was closed during the first lockdown and never reopened. Amanda Arterton, who owned a furniture store in the town for more than 30 years, described it as a "huge loss" at the time.

In 2022, the building reveals plans that the building will see apartments on the first and second floors and retail space on the ground floor — but as Lynn News recently reported, work has not yet been done.

In the heart of the university city of Cambridge, a more futuristic approach is about to emerge.

The two-story Debenhams is the largest store in the city’s Grafton Center before closing in 2021.

There are plans now to transform the shopping mall that first opened in 1983 into office and laboratory spaces in the life sciences industry.

Grafton has been “declining” in recent years, Corstorphine and Wright, the company that designed the program.

"We identified areas that could be removed to allow new developments, including vacant flagship racing shops and underutilized entrance squares," it said.

Opponents believe that the plans will influence the perception of the city as a whole, and the work of the campaign group's St Matthew's work describes the proposed building as a "huge new structure."

But the reconstruction has been approved and work is underway.

Archaeological excavations began at the site last month, which found unopened Victorian soft drinks.

Plans to breathe a new life for Colchester's former Debenhams are approaching, and the developer has shaken his vision to do karts, trampolines and mini golf balls inside.

The store, towering above Culver Square in downtown Essex, opened in 1987 as one of its flagship retailers.

But its abandoned environment has been almost inevitable since May 2021, with three permanently closed entrances spanning three busy shopping lanes.

It's a big blow to a region that is justified in 2022, Spencer and the next.

Colchester City Council has previously stated that leisure will be the core of revitalizing the city center, which emphasizes "upward".

But its ambitious vision of former De Benams returns to Plaza 1.

“Working with residents and businesses, we can help us make the best change in the city to ensure it continues to thrive compared to many others,” said David King, head of the council.

Finally, in Buckinghamshire, the front floor of the Milton Keynes shopping metropolis is now an extensive entertainment venue.

Once the women's clothing department is now a 12-lane bowling alley with arcades, bars, dance floors, ice rinks and more. Sports Direct now occupies other floors.

The new joint venture, Lane 7, has only been open since mid-March, but staff told the BBC that it was very busy.

They say the former department store closed in 2020 and is perfect for this kind of venue – its 40,000 square feet (3,716 square meters) size.

On a busy day, about 2,300 people pass by the door, which proved to be the most popular on Friday nights and weekends.