There will be an in-store bakery and coffee counter after work is complete
M&S Food on the industrial estate in Tunbridge Wells has shut for three months for a “major transformation” which will make the food hall 60 per cent larger.
The works at the out-of-town store were described earlier by the company in planning papers as a “large-scale, long-term investment” of £4.1 million.
Staff will be working at other M&S branches until the reopening. The upgraded food hall will sell around 6,600 lines, along with up to 10 per cent of comparison goods.
There will be a new in-store bakery and coffee counter with baristas, serving takeaway coffee and iced drinks, as well as a new cheese barge.
There will be a larger range of fresh produce from M&S Select Farms, nearly 200 of which are in the South East. And many locals who have been dismayed at the loss of the toilets will be delighted to hear new loos will also be installed.
However, M&S told KentLive today (Monday, January 5) it had no information to share about Dunelm, the British home furnishings retailer, opening instore or in the sub-divided retail unit next door, as is being widely reported on social media. KentLive has contacted Dunelm Group.
Store manager Lauren Gunn said: “We cannot wait to showcase our improved M&S Food store in a few months and thank you to all of our customers for their patience while work takes place.”
She said it would be “fantastic” to have more products instore, giving more choice to customers. “In the meantime, the team and I look forward to continuing to serve customers at our nearby stores,” she said.
KentLive reported in 2024, that the cafe and toilets were shut at the store at Fountains Retail Park in Longfield Road, Tunbridge Wells. M&S revealed in April 2024 it would be closing its Home store which sold furniture, such as sofas, beds and wardrobes, along with garden furniture.
Some 70 staff work at the store, but the expansion will not create more jobs, and there will be no change to the 351 parking spaces at the retail park.
M&S Fountains Tunbridge Wells is one of more than 20 “new or renewed” M&S stores launching before April.
This work does not affect M&S in the town centre in Tunbridge Wells. Plans submitted to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council showed M&S would divide the overall space, with the other side for sale of comparison goods.
The proposals state: “M&S are excited to be bringing forward the proposals for a new brand-defining M&S Foodhall. The decision to make a substantial investment in Tunbridge Wells is dependent on being able to develop a first-class store that is fit for the future and can compete on a like-for-like basis with other supermarkets in the locality.”
“It presents a unique opportunity to provide a retail offer that fulfils the quality of retail environment that M&S seek to deliver and is consistent with their wider brand aspirations.” The M&S store, as one unit, has 4,690 sqm of ground floorspace and 1,492 sqm on the mezzanine level.
The food hall floorspace would rise from 930 sqm for convenience retail to 1,486 sqm floorspace. M&S has applied for permission for the sublet section to sell items such as DIY and garden products and plants; pets and pet supplies, furniture, carpets, computers, caravans, tents and more.
This does not mean all these goods will be sold, it’s simply securing permission for the range of goods. Planning papers said, in looking at other sites for what it wants to do at Fountains Retail Park, something called a sequential test in planning, agents for M&S said it would be “cannibalisation of trade and double the occupation costs” to do this in the town centre, as it already has an M&S with food and drink in Calverley Road.
“….and with double the occupation costs, would be completely unviable,” it said. Due to the subdivision of the store at Fountains, the company wants to remove the existing entrance and create individual entrances for M&S Foodhall and the other shop.
There would also be extensive glazing to create a more open and animated front. The retail park, which used to be a nightmare at peak times to get in and out of, has benefitted from installation of a second exit onto Longfield Road, with permission given in 2023.
The retail park is a huge pull for shoppers and is home to McDonald’s and KFC restaurants and drive-thrus, as well as big names such as M&S supermarket, Halfords, Dreams, Home Sense, Pets at Home and others.
The park on North Farm used to have only an entrance and exit point side-by-side, which meant queues built severely in both directions of Dowding Way.
This caused issues as far as the busy Longfield Road roundabout. At peak times, such as Christmas, it almost became a no-go area, as people feared gridlock, as people tried to enter and leave the site, as well as trying to find parking spaces.
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