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Hillingdon approves M&S superstore in place of The Range at Victoria Retail Park
The shop will include a 1,686 square metre Foodhall, and M&S says it will create up to 123 jobs. The Range, which uses the unit now, is due to close.
Key facts
- M&S superstore approved at Victoria Retail Park, South Ruislip, replacing The Range
- 4,131 square metres of sales space, 1,686 square metres of it a Foodhall
- Planned hours 8am to 10pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm on Sunday
- M&S says up to 123 jobs; 87 objections against more than 1,000 letters of support
Marks and Spencer will open a superstore at Victoria Retail Park in South Ruislip after Hillingdon Council’s planning committee voted unanimously for the scheme. It will take over the unit used by The Range, which is due to close.
The move brings M&S back to the area. The retailer shut its branch on Ruislip High Street in 2018.
What the South Ruislip M&S will include
The shop will have 4,131 square metres of sales space, and 1,686 square metres of that is set aside for an M&S Foodhall. Planned hours are 8am to 10pm from Monday to Saturday and 10am to 6pm on Sunday.
AI-generated pictures of an M&S shop have been shared online, but they do not show the planned design. M&S has issued an official CGI of the scheme.
Outside, the late 20th century entrance pods and the mansard-style roof will be removed. The walls will be reclad in white panels and the lower brickwork painted black. The council’s Urban Design Officer would have preferred to keep the roofline and leave the brick unpainted, but planning officers accepted the revised frontage.
Support, objections and the jobs question
The council received more than 1,000 letters of support. Many said the shop would give residents better choice and quality nearby, so they would not have to travel as far to shop. There were 87 objections. Those who wrote in were worried about losing The Range, including its garden centre, and about what would happen to the people who work there.
M&S says the site will create up to 123 jobs and that it will recruit locally where it can. It also plans to run Marks & Start, its work placement programme. The scheme is aimed at people who find it hard to get into work, among them single parents and disabled people, as well as those at risk of homelessness. How many jobs will go at The Range is not clear. The council said the site would keep an “employment-generating retail use”.
Customers and deliveries will still come in from Crown Road, using the existing access. The plans add 34 cycle parking spaces and new trolley bays. Parent-and-child bays are also planned, and the number of accessible spaces outside the unit will rise from six to eight. As a result the western car park will shrink from about 336 spaces to 332.
Key questions
Where will the new M&S in South Ruislip be?
At Victoria Retail Park, in the unit used by The Range, which is due to close.
What will the opening hours be?
The planned hours are 8am to 10pm from Monday to Saturday and 10am to 6pm on Sunday.
How many jobs will the store create?
M&S says up to 123, with staff recruited locally where possible. It is not clear how many jobs will be lost at The Range.
Will there be fewer parking spaces?
Yes. The western car park goes from about 336 spaces to 332, but the number of accessible spaces outside the unit rises from six to eight.
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