Up to 60 jobs for Leighton Buzzard as M&S Foodhall is confirmed for retail park

Central Bedfordshire Council has today (Friday) confirmed that a long-anticipated Marks & Spencer Foodhall will be opening at the Grovebury Road Retail Park in Leighton Buzzard.
Grovebury Road Retail Park, June 2018Grovebury Road Retail Park, June 2018
Grovebury Road Retail Park, June 2018

It follows speculation this week on social media that the company may have pulled out of its move to the 2.41-hectare site.

Last year the council approved an application to amend the Section 106 agreement to allow the sale of convenience food at retail park. M&S has estimated that the new Foodhall will generate between 55-60 new local jobs.

Councillor Nigel Young, Executive Member for Regeneration and Business at Central Bedfordshire Council, said: “This is great news for the residents of Leighton-Linslade.

One of the Grovebury Road retail park unitsOne of the Grovebury Road retail park units
One of the Grovebury Road retail park units

“M&S is one of the UK’s most popular, ethical and well-respected stores. Having an M&S Foodhall come to Leighton-Linslade means that their loyal shoppers no longer have to travel out of the area.

“An M&S in Leighton Buzzard helps drive competition and creates a new premium offer for the town.

“We are excited to hear from the developers that the retail park is filling up nicely, with some great household-name stores.

“We look forward to the park opening in the early new year. When it is open, Grovebury Road Retail Park will provide more retail facilities and jobs for local people.”

The other new retail tenants at the retail park will also include Pets at Home, B&M Retail, KFC, Subway, and Topps Tiles.

Claymore Phoenix Limited are the developers of the retail park, which is located 1.8km south of Leighton Buzzard town centre.

The M&S Foodhall format is a specialist chain of small and medium sized foodstores selling predominantly a range of M&S own-branded convenience products. The M&S Foodhall at Grovebury Road Retail Park will be able to offer the ‘click and collect’ service for customers to purchase a wider range of M&S items than is offered in the store itself.