Marks & Spencer announces it will quit Lancashire town centre site - and will open on retail park owned by Issa Brothers offering only food

The retail giant said that it will leave it's base in King William Street, Blackburn, and instead will offer a new M&S Foodhall in Blackburn’s Frontier Park retail park, owned by the Issa Brothers.

There has been no timeframe given for the changes, or an explanation of why the offer will only be food.

Here’s 27 historic photos of M&S in Preston’s Fishergate

Ben Heaps, Regional Manager for M&S, said they had been looking for a new location for some time.

He said: “We’re excited to announce our proposals to open a brand-new M&S Foodhall in Blackburn at Frontier Park retail park, which would offer local customers a much wider range of M&S Food products.

"The new fresh market-style Foodhall would offer shoppers a range of new features including displays of great quality, trusted value produce from M&S Select Farms, and a show-stopping new M&S Bakery offering fresh daily-baked breads and pastries.

“With the lease on our current Blackburn store expiring in the next few years, we have been looking for a new local location with the right space to offer shoppers the very best of M&S. In line with the proposed opening, our existing Blackburn store would close once the development is completed.”

Double the current food offer

He added: “As the new Foodhall would be more than double the size of our current food offer in Blackburn, there will be opportunities for all colleagues working in our current store to move to work in the new store or other stores in the local area.

“These plans are part of our store estate rotation and investment programme – shopping habits are changing and we’re rotating our store estate to make sure we have the right stores, in the right place, with the right space to offer our customers a brilliant shopping experience.

“We’re looking forward to working with the site developer EG Group as they continue to progress their planning application to bring forward this exciting new development and we will keep the local community updated as our plans progress.”

M&S revealed at the beginning of the year its plans to reduce its "full line" stores, including clothing and home branches, from 247 to 180.