PLANS have already been submitted from a business looking to take over a gift shop in Moordown that closed last month.

Hollywillow Gifts in Wimborne Road shut its doors after nearly four years of trading.

As reported in the Daily Echo, owner Michele Troke said the part of town where her shop was based was “dying”.

Even the Christmas period, which normally provides a boost for high street retailers, did not deliver the trade Ms Troke hoped it would, she said.

However, she told the Echo she was building a website so she could continue to run her business online.

But a planning application has now been submitted to Bournemouth council to re-open the gift shop as a tattoo parlour.

Bournemouth resident Anastasia Papadakos has submitted the plans. Besides a lick of paint on the walls, new flooring and signage, no other changes are proposed to the shop unit.

The tattoo parlour would be open from 10am-6pm Mondays to Saturdays and 11am-4pm on Sundays.

The Moordown and Winton areas are arguably already well-served by tattoo shops as there are currently five parlours along a stretch of Wimborne Road less than a mile long.

A delegated decision could be made on the plans at some point later this month by Bournemouth Borough Council planning officers.

Last year a report by accountancy firm PwC said 14 shops are closing every day on UK high streets. According to the report, 2,692 shops shut across the UK in the first half of 2018.