Bradford M&S: Shoppers dismayed as store goes out of business

Shoppers in Bradford have expressed their dismay ahead of the closure of the city’s Marks & Spencer branch.

The retailer announced earlier this year plans to close its store at The Broadway shopping center on May 18.

One regular user said a trip to M&S was her main reason for visiting the town centre, while others were concerned about the extra time and cost involved in traveling to the nearest branch, four miles away in Pudsey.

The company said that “changing shopping habits” had driven a “transformation” within the business.

M&S has been based at The Broadway since the £260m site opened in 2015, before being located on Darley Street.

Customers shopping at the store in recent days said the closure would make shopping for food and clothes “very difficult for a lot of people”.

Ian Scholes, 68, said: “We come to this shop every week and shop for my wife’s mum. She has limited mobility, she walks with a walker, so we do all the shopping for her ready meals here.

“We’ll use more gas and more time going further.”

Carol Inn, 63, said she would miss the cafe, describing it as a “safe space”.

She said she didn’t know of any other coffee shops where older people might have the same feeling, saying: “You could go in there and sit by yourself; it was just nice.”

She added: “There is nothing left in Bradford. I remember a lot of old shops, the change over the years is scary.”

Some shoppers said the closure would prevent them from visiting downtown.

Bonita Milnes, 77, told the BBC: “I think it will have an impact on Bradford, I won’t be coming here as much.

“For me, this store was the main reason I came to town.”

Meanwhile, there were concerns that the closure came at an unfortunate time for the city, ahead of its year as UK City of Culture in 2025.

Bradford Civic Society chairman Simon Cunningham said the impending celebration “underscored how important the next 12 to 18 months are for the city”.

“Bradford has a very big year coming up, there is a risk that M&S ​​will undermine that positivity,” he said.

“We need to make sure we make that connection between culture and economic activity and give people enough reasons to come back to the city.

“If we get the culture and those attractions right, then retail can come back, but if we don’t, the high street is finished for good.”

Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s executive member for regeneration, planning and transport, said discussions had taken place with M&S as soon as they became aware of the closure, but the decision had “already been made”.

He said the council was continuing to work with M&S on ways to “support them in developing their ambitious investment plans for their National Distribution Center in Bradford, which is a major employer in our district”.

Despite the closure, M&S regional manager Vickie Smith insisted Bradford remains hugely important to the business.

“Over the last ten years we have invested more than £120 million in our distribution center in Bradford, which employs more than 1,800 people,” she said.

“We have also invested £20m in recent years in our West Yorkshire stores.”

Ian Ward, managing director at The Broadway, said: “M&S closing the Broadway store is a loss for both the city center and the wider Bradford borough.

“We are thinking of everyone affected.”