What next for Hexham M&S building as retail giant closes?

The store finally shut its doors on Saturday, following an initial announcement back in late February proposing the closure.

But despite the loss of such a large store and major retail sector employer, there is a sense of positivity that the impact of the closure may be lessened by other businesses stepping in to fill the void.

"I'm optimistic because Hexham is thriving at the moment," said Suzanne Fairless-Aitken, councillor for Hexham east and Priestpopple ward which covers Maiden's Walk.

"We'll just have to see what happens to the store. M&S is much-loved on the high street, they seem to evoke lots of nostalgia and it does for me. At the moment nothing's been confirmed, but it is a great site.

"I was a regular shopper there, I'm gutted to see it go. The team were amazing who worked there, it was a really nice feel in the shop.

A message from the store, reminders shoppers they can still shop online. (Image: Natalie Finnigan)

"People are moving into Hexham left, right and centre so we need a food shop in town again. We need somewhere for locals who are not so enabled to get down to the supermarkets for their shopping or a simple bag of groceries."

Following the announcement of the store's closure, Tynedale resident Simon Kitchen, who was a 'regular patron', set up a petition to save it. But despite it reaching 2,558 signatures from residents all over Hexham and district areas, it was to no avail.

Derek Kennedy, mayor of Hexham, said: "It's very sad M&S has closed, but Hexham has had a lot of positive things. We've had positive investment in the high street with the Heritage Action Zone, it's renowned for being a good place to live.

"We can only hope, and it is only hope, that there's another retailer out there who wants to take over a substantial premise as this one. We just hope something will come along that's a positive contribution to Hexham's retail offer. I don't know of anything, there's been no rumours or potential interest I'm aware of.

"M&S is a difficult act to follow. We need to see who's available and if they come."

The potential impact of new housing planned for the Old Middle School site, and the boost it could give retail businesses, has led some to see M&S's closure as a 'missed opportunity'.

Janie French from Hexham Community Partnership, the town's development trust, said: "M&S would have benefited a lot from the coming development of the Old Middle School site for housing because of its location, so it's a real shame that opportunity has been missed. From a personal point of view, I will miss my M&S goodies.

"I hope that the staff are being taken good care of and that I'll soon see them working for other Hexham retailers."

Concern for the staff was echoed by another councillor for the Priestpopple ward, Tom Pearson, who  said: "We're disappointed to lose a staple of Hexham's market and my thoughts go out to the workers. I hope a new business takes over the premises very quickly.

"There are lots of new vibrant shops opening in Hexham in the past year, so I hope we have another vibrant shop open in the area."

M&S plans to close dozens of stores UK-wide over the next five years, which is hoped will save the business millions of pounds.

Prior to the store's closure, Philip Barker-Thomson, M&S regional manager, said: "Though never an easy decision, shopping habits are changing so we’re rotating our store estate to make sure we have the right stores in the right place and with the right space to offer a brilliant shopping experience.

"In the last year, we have invested £13million in our stores across the region and later this spring, we will be opening our new Washington Galleries store."

He added that, where possible, affected staff would be offered alternative opportunities within the business.