Opinion: M&S at Whitebirk – The Best Outcome Blackburn Could Hope For

Introduction

There’s no doubt the news that Marks & Spencer will leave Blackburn town centre will be met with disappointment by many. For decades, M&S has been a cornerstone of high street shopping in Blackburn, a familiar name on a changing landscape. But when it comes to the future of the brand in our borough, the newly approved move to Whitebirk is, in truth, the best Blackburn could have hoped for.

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M&S have been clear and consistent: they will not continue trading in Blackburn town centre beyond 2027 — and could close the store even sooner once the new Food Hall at Whitebirk opens. The building, by their own admission, no longer fits their retail model. The cost of modernising the current premises or moving to alternative town centre sites, such as the former Thwaites Brewery location, simply doesn’t stack up for the company. It doesn’t align with their future-focused food-led trading style, which centres around convenient, accessible, purpose-built units like the one now planned for Frontier Park.

There were hopes among some that M&S could be persuaded to stay in the heart of the town, but those hopes were not grounded in commercial reality. The Thwaites site — despite being proposed as an alternative — was never going to work. Too costly, too complicated, and simply not suited to M&S’s modern store requirements.

The decision by Hyndburn Council to approve the new £10m development at Whitebirk not only secures M&S’s continued presence in the area, but also retains 75 existing jobs and adds around 120 more. In this climate, that’s not just a win — it’s a lifeline.

It’s easy to view this as another nail in the coffin for Blackburn’s struggling town centre. But sometimes, the best decisions come from accepting the reality of change and adapting to it. Frontier Park offers the kind of visibility, parking, and infrastructure that meets national retailers’ expectations in 2025 — not 1995.

This move should now serve as a wake-up call. If the town centre is to thrive in a post-M&S era, it needs bold, creative thinking and a focus on experiences, independents, and community-first regeneration. But holding on to legacy names at any cost is no longer an option.

In the end, M&S didn’t walk away from Blackburn. Blackburn evolved — and the store is coming with it, just in a different shape and place.

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A FIELDING
A FIELDING
19 days ago

The food hall especially is used mainly by the
Elderly. The new site will be unreachable for
Them as most do not drive.

Dee
Dee
17 days ago
Reply to  A FIELDING

Its used mainly by the elderly because the food hall is terrible and parking isnt great. We will use it once its at a big retail park and we can actually get a full shop like you can at Burnley or Rawtenstall

Margery clapham
Margery clapham
19 days ago

I think it’s a great move .

Edna Blackstock
Edna Blackstock
18 days ago

its not Whitebirk it is Rishton.

Alyson
Alyson
18 days ago

What are the bus routes like up there, if the infrastructure is only suited to people who have a car that is going to exclude a lot of people?

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