M&S Blackburn store to close months before food hall opening

Marks & Spencer has said the closure of its Blackburn town centre store is likely to come before its planned new £10 million Food Hall opens due to delays caused by objections, and it could close in a matter of weeks.

Tesco and Blackburn with Darwen Council have objected to the high-street stalwart’s plan to quit the town centre for Frontier Park, over the border in Hyndburn borough.

The department store has stated that its site in King William Street has been underperforming for some time, and it is now proposing to close the site.

The objections by the council and Tesco have delayed work at Frontier Park, meaning there will be a period of time between the Blackburn store closing and the Food Hall’s opening.

The proposed Frontier Park M&S food hall

The business is now in consultation with staff at the Blackburn store, with the closure to come within the next 12 months, as the lease on the King William Street site is up in March 2027, and will likely come before the new Food Hall is operational.

When M&S revealed it was quitting the town centre in 2023, it was a hammer blow for the revitalisation of the centre of Blackburn, with one of the most recognisable high street brands in a prominent location upping sticks.

Council bosses have offered up the old Thwaites Brewery site – intended for a new Morrisons until the supermarket chain pulled out of that idea – for the Food Hall, but the brand was adamant it was the Frontier Park site, next to the Hampton by Hilton hotel, or nothing.

Zeba Khan, regional manager at M&S, said: “As we reshape for growth, our UK-wide store rotation programme is about making sure each of our stores delivers the best of M&S and the best possible shopping experience for customers.

“In 2023, we shared our plans to open a brand-new food store at Frontier Park, to align with the end of our lease at King William Street. 

M&S have repeatedly rejected the old Thwaites Brewery site as an option (Image: BWDC)

“Sadly, following objections, that has not been possible, and we have now made the tough decision to propose the closure of our Blackburn store.

“Shopping habits are changing, and the store does not have a sustainable future.

“Our priority now is continuing conversations with our colleagues, and if the proposals go ahead, we will offer colleagues alternative roles at M&S wherever possible.

“I’d like to thank all of our customers who have shopped with us over the years for their support.”

The leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Councillor Phil Riley, said: “We are very disappointed to learn of the decision by Marks & Spencer to close its Blackburn town centre store before a new store opens, and our immediate thoughts are with the staff who were informed yesterday.

“This will be an uncertain and worrying time for them and their families.

“We recognise that M&S are leaving many town centres up and down the country, and not only Blackburn.

"M&S has been part of Blackburn’s high street for generations and has long been an important anchor for the town centre.

"Its closure will be felt by many loyal customers and neighbouring businesses.

"M&S made the decision some years ago to leave Blackburn. Since then, the Council has worked hard and in good faith to support the company’s continued presence in Blackburn.

"This has included identifying opportunities to develop a new town centre store; however, this offer has never been seriously considered by M&S.

"While the existing store building is privately owned and decisions about investment and closure sit with the company, we remain firmly focused on the wider future of Blackburn town centre.

"Blackburn is a resilient and ambitious place. The council and its partners are investing significantly in regeneration, new skills provision, cultural assets and improvements to strengthen footfall and confidence.

"Only this week, we announced the first phase of our Star Square development on the former Thwaites site. The £45m One Star Square development will anchor our £250m masterplan for the area.

“Along with major investment in our key cultural assets, including King George’s Hall, we will be able to generate new businesses, new jobs, and more footfall in Blackburn town centre.

"This new growth will enhance our already substantial daytime population, including around 1,500 council staff based in the heart of Blackburn, alongside College and University staff and students who regularly support local businesses. 

"Although this news is disappointing, it does not change our long-term commitment to the town centre or our determination to attract investment and support businesses.

"We will work with partners to ensure that employees affected by this decision are offered support with employment opportunities and skills development.”

M&S announced in November 2023 it was leaving Blackburn, opting for a Food Hall type store in Hyndburn instead, just off Junction 6 of the M65 at Whitebirk.

At the time, council leader Councillor Phil Riley said the move “did not come as a surprise”, while Lancashire Telegraph readers dubbed the move the “final nail in the coffin” for Blackburn town centre and expressed sadness at the news, while also lamenting the continued growth of out-of-town retail parks and the detrimental impact they have on town centres.

The M&S plans looked in jeopardy at one point in 2024, when planning officers recommended the application be refused, as there were better sites for the development to be sited.

Councillors voted to approve the plan, but after appeal this was quashed in the High Court that September, forcing the process to be re-run.

Again, planning officers recommended the application be blocked, saying the Thwaites site in Blackburn was a better alternative, but again, Hyndburn councillors approved the plans in April 2025.

A further legal challenge was then put in by Tesco, backed by Blackburn with Darwen Council, last July, saying Hyndburn Council had failed to properly apply the critical "Town Centre First" sequential approach test in making its decision, and that the Thwaites site is “both suitable and available”.

M&S property director William Smith said in July that M&S is not prepared to invest in the Thwaites site “now or ever, regardless of any outcome at Frontier Park”, and said if the Frontier Park is not approved, it will pull out of Blackburn altogether, resulting in the loss of 75 jobs.

BwD Council has said the Thwaites site represents an opportunity to open in a “prime town centre location” giving “loyal customers easy access” to the store while securing the long-term future of the town centre.

In recent weeks, M&S has also tabled plans to open another Food Hall near Colne, just off the end of the M65, again at an Issa brothers-owned site.

While some welcomed the plans, many said they would prefer an M&S store selling clothes and that the food is too expensive, while others raised concerns about the impact on traffic in the area.

A previous plan for the site for a Popeye’s fast food restaurant was dropped after more than 50 objections were submitted, many citing the impact on local roads an increase in traffic would cause.

Controversial plans for a Food Hall in Norcross, Wyre, are also edging closer, with plans having to meet a number of conditions before the project can get underway.