Marks and Spencer could be returning to Portsmouth city centre in new hub
MARKS and Spencer could be set for a dramatic return to the city centre two years after leaving following proposals for a hub ‘where people want to shop, work, eat and drink’.
M&S closed its Commercial Road store in March 2018 after opening a new foodhall at Ocean Retail Park - leaving a gap in city centre shopping.
But under new plans submitted to Portsmouth City Council this week, M&S could return with a foodhall accessible within Cascades Shopping Centre.
The plans also include an additional retail outlet and two other units, which front onto Commercial Road.
Previous M&S units will be adapted to offer a café/restaurant at ground level.
On the first and second levels plans include new office floor space.
An application letter was submitted to the council by Jones Lang LaSalle Ltd after being instructed by RPMI Railpen Ltd.
It said: ‘The proposal will provide a mixed-use space which will retain the presence of M&S in the city centre, put the vacant premises back into a long-term beneficial use.
‘(It would) provide an active frontage onto Commercial Road, enhance the success and vitality of the Commercial Road shopping area, and continue to support office use in the city centre.
‘When the proposal is considered more widely, not only will it improve the vitality and viability of the city centre, but it will also enable the area to be a place where people will want to shop, work, eat and drink.’