To continue reading this article, subscribe to the Stray Ferret for as little as £1 a week
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
20
Aug
Groundworks are underway at St Michael’s Retail Park in Ripon ahead of the expansion of the M&S Food store.
Ongoing work at the car park will enable the installation of an electricity substation and new EV parking spaces.
There will also be eight additional parent and child parking spaces and the introduction of two new trolley bays.
Last month, the Stray Ferret broke the news that the retail giant would be expanding into the vacant neighbouring unit at the Rotary Way site, when M&S provided information about what the move will mean for customers.
Retail floorspace will increase by 40%, from 7,300 sqft to 12,300 sqft, allowing for a wider selection of produce, a larger in-store bakery and a bigger flower and wine offering.
The extension is set to be completed in spring 2025 and the existing store will remain open throughout the expansion process.
The M&S Food Store will increase in size with expansion into the adjacent vacant unit
When confirming the expansion plan, Ripon store manager Richard Johnston said we “couldn’t be more excited to finally share our plans with customers”, adding:
The countdown to next spring starts now!
So many customers come to us to do their weekly shop and it’s brilliant to be able to showcase even more of the M&S food range and give them even more choice.
We’ll have more seasonal fruit and veg on offer from our select farm partners, more of our signature collection wines, and more of our dropped and locked products delivering great value with an M&S difference.
M&S invested more than £20 million into stores across Yorkshire over the last financial year.
This is the first major development at the Rotary Way site since German retailer Lidl scrapped plans to open in one of the vacant units in January.
The adjacent units have remained vacant since M&S Ripon opened in July 2020.
0