M&S Handforth Dean plans approved for retail development

Cheshire East Council have approved expansion plans at M&S Handforth Dean as approved as reported on Place North West

Plans to extend M&S Handforth Dean by 26,400 sq ft has secured unanimous backing after planning officers switched their recommendation from refusal to approval after M&S provided evidence that no other site was suitable for a retail development.

Officers at Cheshire East Council had accused M&S of not considering other sites for a potential development of a new store.

As part of its application, M&S said it had looked at a number of sites, including Daisy Bank Lane in Heald Green; Metropolitan House in Cheadle Hulme; Wilmslow Leisure Centre’s car park; Water Street in Stockport; Barracks Mill in Macclesfield; and the Massie Street car park, also in Cheadle Hulme.

The 26,400 sq ft extension to the retailer’s existing store at Handforth Dean Retail Park, opened in 1995, includes demolishing the existing M&S entrance pavilion at the South East end of the existing store, and building on part of the existing car park, which will be reconfigured to provide 153 spaces. Plans were originally put forward in 2017 but before this summer had not yet made it to committee.

Handforth Dean Retail Park and its surrounds have seen various long-running planning battles in recent years, with developers and Cheshire East arguing over the impact on local centres, including Macclesfield, if further retail is built out at the park.

Avison Young advised M&S on its planning application.

Image: © Copyright Geoff Royle and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.