MARKS & Spencer has confirmed it will open a new foodhall in Clacton – five years after it closed its popular town centre store.

The retail giant has confirmed it is planning to open a shop at Brook Park West retail park, off the A133.

The shop is situated opposite the existing Lidl supermarket.

An M&S spokesperson said: “We’re really excited to confirm we’re planning to open a brand-new M&S Foodhall in Clacton at the Brook Retail Park, offering local shoppers a wide range of great quality, trusted value M&S Food products.

"We’ll be sharing more details about the new store with local residents in the coming weeks.”

Marks & Spencer Simply Foods Ltd has submitted an application for a premises licence to Tendring Council to sell alcohol at a newly completed unit every day from 6am to 12am.

In January the firm said 20 new bigger and better stores were in the pipeline for 2023/4 as part of a £480million investment across the UK, which would create 3,400 jobs.

Stuart Machin, chief executive of M&S said: “Stores are a core part of M&S’s omni-channel future and serve as a competitive advantage for how customers want to shop today.

“Our store rotation programme is about making sure we have the right stores, in the right place, with the right space and we’re aiming to rotate from the 247 stores we have today to 180 higher quality, higher productivity full line stores that sell our full Clothing, Home and Food offer whilst also opening over 100 bigger, better food sites.”

The closure of the Pier Avenue store in 2018 was described as a “devastating blow” for the town centre by traders.

Clacton and Frinton Gazette: The former Clacton town centre store, which closed its doors in 2018The former Clacton town centre store, which closed its doors in 2018 (Image: Newsquest)

The building was bought by Tendring Council for £3.1million the year before M&S closed, but a lease remains in place until 2027. The site is currently sub-let to discount chain One Below.

The retail giant closed its shop in the town as part of a programme to reshape its estate in the face of online competition and the opening of the Foodhall in Walton in 2019.

The firm said it was a “difficult decision” to close the shop, but that all 57 employees were redeployed to nearby stores, including the discount clothing outlet at Clacton Shopping Village.