Work commences on Marks & Spencer relocation at White Rose Shopping Centre

Work has commenced to relocate Marks & Spencer into a new 80,000sq ft anchor store within the White Rose Centre, Leeds. The project, which will include a new full height glazed entrance has been designed by The Harris Partnership for Landsec. ESH Construction have been appointed as Main Contractor.

The new store, formerly occupied by Debenhams, will feature a 15,000sq ft M&S Foodhall, as well as womenswear, lingerie, beauty, childrenswear, menswear, home departments, and a café.

The Harris Partnership has a long relationship with the White Rose Shopping Centre and were responsible for the design of the £13.7m leisure extension in 2016, which provided an 11-screen cinema, operated by Cineworld IMAX, six additional family friendly-restaurants and a range of new public realm features. This new addition also offered 350 extra jobs.

Daniel Broadhead at The Harris Partnership says, “The White Rose Shopping Centre is integral to the retail offering in Leeds and our existing relationship allows us to understand and interpret exactly what is required to remain sympathetic to the existing design yet create an exciting new store.”

THP have an unrivalled portfolio of innovative mixed-use retail parks and residential schemes throughout the country, along with managing the largest portfolio of ALDI projects in the North and South East. Regionally they are responsible for the design of recent projects: The Headline residential development on the site of the former Yorkshire Post building; a 215 residential development at Sweet Street, Leeds for the Oak Apple Group; and Gallagher Retail Park in Huddersfield for client Marcus Worthington, which features a new Aldi foodstore, Marks and Spencer’s Simply Food and two additional retail units within a contemporary terrace totalling over 400m² of accommodation.