Council warned Blackpool 'must keep its M&S store'

The retailer is proposing to close 14 shops putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

Coun Maxine Callow warned: “The last thing this town needs is to lose its M&S.”

Addressing a full meeting of Blackpool Council, she said: “It is extremely worrying.

“As most people know, I go into Marks and Spencer’s a lot and it really isn’t as busy as it should be.

“If we can, we should put pressure on Marks and Spencer to continue to trade in this town because it’s much needed.”

Council leader Coun Simon Blackburn said he was “as confident as we can be that Blackpool’s store will remain open”.

He added: “As far as I understand it, it is areas where there are two stores and where one is operated on an out of town retail estate.”

He said Blackpool had always resisted too much edge-of-town retailing in order to protect shopping in the town centre.

Blackpool’s M&S is in a key location on Church Street.

Coun Blackburn said: “We will continue to monitor the situation as I would also be very sorry to lose Marks and Spencer but there is no reason to think that is going to happen any time soon.”

Sacha Berendji, retail operations director for M&S, said: “Stores will always be an integral part of our customer experience, alongside M&S.com, but we have to ensure we have the right offer in the right locations.”

Six stores are expected to close in April, with another eight proposed to close later in the year.