Marks and Spencer food hall plan for ‘resilient and vibrant’ Colne

Marks & Spencer wants to build a food store on the edge of Colne, saying it will boost the town and create 70 jobs.

M&S wants permission for a food hall at Silk Way Business Park, near the new Euro Garages service station, Boundary Mill and the M65.

The other applicant involved is Monte Blackburn Ltd, the company owned by Blackburn’s Issa brothers who have the Euro Garages chain.

M&S says it needs 150 dedicated car parking spaces but other existing retail parks in Colne do not have enough spaces. And in nearby Nelson, it understands the redeveloped Pendle Rise shopping site will not have specific car parking for individual units – and another food retailer is lined-up for a unit there.

In planning papers to Pendle Council, M&S says the Colne store, if approved. will be similar to its other food halls at the Trafford Centre and Harrogate.

A report by Nexus Planning for M&S says: “The new food hall will provide an exemplar, state-of-the-art retail experience to the customers of Colne. It will provide a new retail offer for the area. It will deliver the soul of a fresh market with the mind of a supermarket and provide over 6,600 product lines.

“Overall, it will provide a modern food store in a sustainable location, occupied by an operator who is committed to high quality design, job creation, sustainable working policies and giving back to the local community.”

Regarding employment, it adds: “The store will support up to 70 jobs and a contribution of over £1.1m per year in wages. M&S also runs an initiative with the King’s Trust to  break-down barriers to work and create a better future for individuals who need extra assistance with accessing employment.”

Regarding other retail sites in Colne, M&S says the largest town centre building currently available is a former Santander Bank which is too small for its needs. At North Valley Retail Park, there is a vacant former Matalan building but it shares a car park with Aldi and Poundstretcher.

The report for M&S adds: “The  operator requires at least 150 dedicated car parking spaces to serve its operation. Having a lesser amount would mean the operator could not viably trade, due to customer trips and expenditure required. We are not aware of any other unit or development site within or on the edge of Colne town centre.”

Meanwhile in Nelson, it says: “There are a number of vacant units in Nelson town centre but the majority are small and could not accommodate the proposed food hall development.”

On the future Pendle Rise retail site, it says: “The proposed new car park there will be for 143 spaces, serving a food store and nine additional units. And it is  understood an agreement has been made between the council and a new food store operator for the food unit.

“So Pendle Rise does not represent a suitable alternative to the Colne site. And the proposed Pendle Rise food store would be over 12 per cent smaller than the proposed Colne store.”

Overall, the Nexus report for M&S says Colne is a ‘resilient and healthy town centre’. It is performing well and has relatively low shop vacancy rates. It also highlights Colne’s leisure offer including the Municipal Hall, Little Theatre and Pendle Hippodrome.

It adds: “Colne also boasts a vibrant night-time economy of bars and restaurants but it would benefit from further family-focused facilities to bridge the gap between daytime retail and late-night socialising.”

However, some objections have come from Colne residents in the Greenfield Road area, over potential noise and disturbance from delivery vehicles and customer traffic using Greenfield Road as a cut-through. But some other Colne residents support the M&S plan.

Pendle’s Colne area committee will consider it on Thursday, August 6.