M&S store closing after 56 years in town centre

Marks & Spencer first opened in Crawley back in 1968 but is closing for good on Saturday

A Marks & Spencer store which residents say has been been a 'landmark' in Crawley town centre for 56 years is closing.

The retail giant said the closure of the West Sussex shop was partially due to people’s shopping habits changing.

M&S opened in Queensway back in October 1968 but is closing its doors on Saturday.

Residents said they were “sad to see it go” and that the town centre was in a “sorry state”.

Resident Vanessa Roberts, who has lived in the town since 1982, told BBC Radio Sussex: “It’s shocking really because the town centre is just empty. It’s just coffee shops, charity shops, barbers and nail salons.

“M&S has been here as long as I’ve lived here. It’s really sad.”

Another resident said: “It’s a landmark store for the town, it’s a bit of a shame that it’s closing but I guess that’s the times changing.

“It’s a shame to be losing an iconic store in the town centre.”

Crawley was designated as a new town in 1947, merging the villages of Three Bridges and Ifield with the small market town of Crawley filling in the gaps.

The town continued growing rapidly and in 1958 Queen Elizabeth II opened Queens Square, the main shopping square which is a few hundred metres from where the M&S store is.

M&S said it was open to investing in a new store in Crawley if it finds the right type of site

The store is open from 08:00 GMT until 16:00 on Saturday, its last day of trading.

Graham Bennett, M&S regional manager, said conversations were being held with staff at the Crawley branch and, where possible, they will be offered alternative roles with M&S.

He added: “Thank you to all our customers who have shopped at the store - we will continue to work hard serving you at our nearby Acorn Park M&S Food.

"Shopping habits are changing and our store rotation strategy is all about making sure we have the right stores with the right space – in the past year we have invested more than £12m in our stores across the South East.”

M&S said it was open to investing in a new store in Crawley in the future if it finds the right type of site.