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Hillingdon Council has approved plans which will see a brand new M&S superstore open in South Ruislip.
The new flagship store will open in place of The Range in Victoria Retail Park which is set to close. This marks a return to South Ruislip for the retailer after closing down their Ruislip High Street branch in 2018.
The store will feature a huge sales area of 4,131 square metres with 1,686 square metres dedicated to an M&S Foodhall. The store will open from 8am until 10pm between Monday and Saturday, with a 10am until 6pm opening time on Sundays.
Some AI generated images of an M&S store have been circulated online - however they do not represent what the store will actually look like with an official CGI released by M&S accurately depicting the plans. The council's planning committee voted unanimously in favour of the proposals.
The application received overwhelming support from members of the public with the council receiving over 1,000 letters of support from residents. Many letters referred to the plan as improving retail choice and quality whilst reducing the need to travel further for shopping needs.
Some locals did oppose the plans, with the council receiving 87 letters of objection. These letters raised concerns about the loss of The Range and its garden centre, and the impact on The Range employees who are set to lose their jobs.
Responding to these concerns, Hillingdon Council outlined that the proposed development would retain an “employment-generating retail use”. M&S say that the site will create up to 123 new jobs - although it is unclear how many jobs will be lost from The Range.
M&S say staff would be recruited locally where possible. The company will also implement it’s 'Marks & Start' scheme - a work placement programme designed to help people facing barriers to work, such as single parents, people with disabilities, and those at risk of homelessness.
The plans also outline significant alterations to the exterior design with the late 20th century style entrance pods and mansard-style roof set to be removed. The elevations will also be reclad in white panels.
Additionally, lower level brickwork will be painted black. Although the council’s Urban Design Officer expressed a preference for retaining the existing roofline and unpainted brickwork, officers accepted the revised façade.
Minor amendments are proposed to the parking layout immediately outside the store entrance, together with new trolley bays and 34 cycle parking spaces.
The existing customer and servicing access arrangements from Crown Road would be retained. The proposal will result in a net loss of four car parking spaces immediately outside the store, in order to provide trolley bays, the creation of parent-and-child spaces and additional accessible spaces.
The western car park provision would therefore reduce from approximately 336 to 332 spaces. Some concerns were raised during the consultation process about a lack of disabled parking, however the scheme will actually increase the number of accessible parking spaces outside the unit from six to eight.
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