The long-anticipated Marks & Spencer (M&S) Foodhall in the Grovebury Road Retail Park in Leighton-Linslade is now open, bringing with it 46 new local jobs. 

In 2017, Central Bedfordshire Council announced that it had approved a change to the original planning restrictions and would now allow the sale of convenience food at Grovebury Road Retail Park. This enabled M&S to progress their ambition to open a Foodhall in Leighton-Linslade. 

Councillor Nigel Young, Executive Member for Regeneration and Business at Central Bedfordshire Council, said: “We are delighted to have another high-profile store for the residents of Leighton-Linslade to shop at. Now loyal M&S customers no longer have to travel out of the area. An M&S here helps drive competition and creates a new premium offer for the town. Judging by the queues waiting to get in this morning, it will be a popular and busy store.

“There are now some great household-name stores for shoppers to visit at Grovebury Road Retail Park. The shopping park will provide even more retail facilities and jobs for local people, and we look forward to its formal opening in the summer.” 

The Grovebury Road Retail Park M&S store is open Monday to Saturday, from 8am – 9pm, and on Sundays from 11am – 5pm. The store offers the full range of M&S clothing and home products via its Collect in Store service. Customers can opt for next day collection if they order by 10pm the night before on M&S.com.

To celebrate the opening, the store gave away exclusive ‘Golden Ticket’ gift vouchers to the first 200 lucky customers through the doors.