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The decision by M&S to close its store in Welwyn Garden City has been labelled “disappointing” by both the leader of Welwyn Hatfield Council and the owner of the Howard Centre.
The move to close the store in April also received some backlash by local residents.
M&S’ regional manager said the decision came as a result of shopping habits changing.
READ MORE: Get the latest news from across Welwyn Garden City
The move to close the store prompted the leader of Welwyn Hatfield Council Tony Kingsbury, as well as Chief Executive Ka Ng, to meet with the owners of the shopping centre.
The pair have also confirmed they will shortly be meeting with M&S to discuss possible solutions for the space.
As a result, the council says it is actively lobbying M&S to retain a presence in the Howard Centre, with Cllr Kingsbury writing to senior management to express his disappointment in their decision to close the store and ask them to consider retaining their Foodhall in the shopping centre.
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“We are working hard, together with M&S and the owners of the Centre, to find a solution to Marks & Spencer’s plans to close their store in the Howard Centre,” Cllr Kingsbury said in a statement.
“The council is completely committed to wider development of Welwyn Garden City town centre as can be seen from the ongoing improvement works to Stonehills, including the remodelling of the Anniversary Gardens.
“Meanwhile we continue to move forward with the WGC 2120 project, a new phase of development delivering new homes, retail and leisure space, and supporting infrastructure in the heart of the town centre.
“We will do everything that we can to find the best possible solution for the Howard Centre, for the town centre, its businesses and visitors.”
This is a view shared by the owner of the Howard Centre, who added: “We share the disappointment with our customers of the recent announcement that M&S intend to stop trading from their space in the Howard Centre.
“We are committed to ensuring the future of the centre fulfils the needs of the local community and are working with M&S and the council to ensure the vitality of the garden city”.
M&S announced earlier this month that it would be closing its Welwyn Garden City store in April of this year.
The retailer’s regional manager said they’ve spoken to workers there and assured them that they’ll be redeployed to a nearby M&S store.
As a result, it’s anticipated that no redundancies will be necessary.
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Jon Statham, M&S Regional Manager, said at the time the closure was confirmed: “Shopping habits are changing, so we’re rotating our store estate to make sure we have the right stores to offer our customers a brilliant shopping experience.
“As part of this transformation, we have today announced to colleagues that we will be closing the M&S Welwyn Garden City store in April 2022.
“Our priority now is to talk to our colleagues about what this announcement means for them.
“We have reassured colleagues that they will all be redeployed into a role in a nearby M&S store and we do not anticipate any redundancies.”
He added: “We appreciate that this will be disappointing news for some and we would like to thank all our customers who have shopped with us in the store.
“We will be working hard to keep serving them in our many stores in the wider local area which offer a wide range of Food, Clothing & Home products, including St Albans, London Colney and our upcoming new store in Stevenage which will open later this spring.”
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