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09
Aug
Expanding Ripon M&S set for additional EV charging points
Work to expand the M&S food hall in Ripon is underway – and now the retail park is to get more EV charging points.
A planning application was submitted to North Yorkshire Council in June for eight additional EV charging points and parking bays.
The plans also proposed to create eight additional parent and child parking spaces and two new trolley bays at St Michael’s Retail Park.
This week, the plans have been approved.
Council case officer Sam Witham said in the decision report:
The proposal, due to its siting, scale and design, represent acceptable additions which would not cause significant harm to the character and appearance to the surrounding area, and represents an appropriate form of renewable energy.
M&S is to extend its food hall into the vacant unit alongside it.
The EV charging planning application first hinted at the expansion by stating the food hall’s entrances would be reconfigured and the site expanded.
The Stray Ferret confirmed the news last week after staff were sent a message saying the extension was now “official”.
The Ripon food hall is set to increase by 40%, from from 7,300 sqft to 12,300 sqft. It will have a bigger in-store bakery, as well as a larger wine and flower offering.
Work has already started at the site and is expected to finish in spring 2025. The food hall will remain open throughout the process.
This is the first major development at the retail park 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.
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