Stowmarket store should not threaten M&S in Ipswich or Bury

It says the new Simply Food store that has been proposed for Gun Cotton Way - between Tesco and the town centre - would be an additional store serving the town and the growing Mid Suffolk area.

The new retail park would be built on this land off Gun Cotton Way in Stowmarket. (Image: Google Maps)

Developers Location3 Property has signed up M&S as the anchor store in a new retail park it wants to create - the new food hall would create up to 200 jobs.

The developers are now asking the public what they think of the plans before submitting a formal planning application to Mid Suffolk.

If the application is successful they hope to build the development next year.

M&S nationally is pursuing a strategy of moving out of large town and city-centre department stores and developing retail park sites which have plenty of parking as it tries to develop the grocery market.

That had prompted fears that a successful food store could prompt the company to reconsider the future of its town centre stores in Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds which are both 14 miles from Stowmarket.

However, a spokesman for the company said the Stowmarket proposal would have no affect on the company's existing stores.

He said: “We’re hoping to open a brand new M&S Foodhall in Stowmarket, offering local customers a wide range of great quality, trusted value M&S Food products and we’re looking forward to hearing views from the community.”

Marks and Spencer already has a food hall at Martlesham Heath. (Image: Google Maps)

As well as the two department stores, M&S also has a large Simply Food store at Martlesham Heath to the east of Ipswich - and tried to buy the former Toys R Us store at Copdock before its move was blocked by council-owned property company Ipswich Borough Assets.

Marks and Spencer did close its store in central Colchester when it moved to a massive unit at the new Stane Retail Park just off the A12 on the edge of the city.