M&S have let people of town down says MP
MP TONY Lloyd has accused Marks and Spencer of ‘letting down the people of Rochdale’ after the firm pulled out of plans to open a flagship store in the town centre.
Last month M&S announced it wasn’t going ahead with plans to close its existing Yorkshire Street store and move to the planned £100m Rochdale Riverside development.
The news was a massive blow to the scheme, raising fears the entire project could be jeopardised.
But council chiefs came out fighting, saying M&S has a ‘legallybinding agreement’ which they will be expected to fulfil.
And now Mr Lloyd has also waded into the row and called for a meeting with M&S chairman Archie Norman ‘as a matter of priority.’
He said: “Marks and Spencer is a professional brand with a global reputation.
“People in Rochdale were genuinely delighted to know M&S planned a new, state of the art store as part of the regeneration of the town. But we find the company backtracking.
“Bluntly, M&S have let down local people and done real damage to the Marks and Spencer brand.
“Even at this stage, it is important to make sure that the decision really has been thought through at the very highest level in Marks and Spencer, which is why I am asking to meet with Archie Norman as a matter of priority.”
M&S was the first major name to sign up for the development, which is set to transform the area around Smith Street and Baillie Street, announcing plans in November 2015 to close its nearby Yorkshire Street branch and move to Rochdale Riverside.
Other firms to have signed up for the scheme include Next and cinema chain Reel.
Next declined to comment when asked by the Observer if the M&S decision would affect their commitment to the scheme, while Reel Cinemas didn’t respond to numerous requests for a comment.
Planning permission for the first phase of Rochdale Riverside was approved in April.
It will contain around 25 shops, restaurants and cafes, and it is estimated it could create more than 1,000 jobs and boost the local economy by £17m a year. But last month Coun Ashley Dearnley, leader of Rochdale’s Conservatives, said he couldn’t see ‘how the development could continue’ without M&S.