Marks & Spencer megastore flattened in ‘major milestone’ for UK town centre | UK | News
A large former Marks & Spencer store has been razed after standing empty for almost a decade to make way for an impressive town center regeneration project. The megastore, alongside a former British Home Stores (BHS) site, has been demolished as part of a £2 million project in Northampton city center ahead of the construction of new flats.
West Northamptonshire Council is set to use the site as part of a major development that will regenerate the town. Demolition work, carried out by deconstruction giant Colemans, began in September 2025 and has finally been completed. The project was not without its challenges, as leveling both buildings required the removal of asbestos. The derelict shops will be replaced by a £9.7 million project to build new retail and leisure spaces in the center of Northampton. Plans are also in the works for more than 200 build-to-rent homes.
The completion of the demolition was hailed as a “major milestone” for the East Midlands town, which is also one of the largest towns in England. A Colemans spokesman said the team had worked hard to deliver the project “safely, efficiently and with minimal disruption”. Sun reported.
Reform councilor Kamala Guliyeva, West Northamptonshire Council’s cabinet member for local economy, culture and leisure, said: “The completion of these demolition works is a significant milestone for Northampton town centre.
“This represents real progress in transforming this important area and creating new opportunities for residents, businesses and visitors,” he added.
“We are committed to delivering high-quality development that supports our local economy and helps breathe new life into the city centre, and this work lays the foundations for the next chapter.”
The site has been empty since the closure of M&S in 2018 and department store retailer BHS, which sold mainly clothing and homeware, two years ago.
Marks & Spencer will close 27 stores in 2025 and a further 14 in the first half of 2026 as part of a wider, ongoing company strategy launched in 2022 to reduce its full-line store count from 247 to 180 by 2028. Key locations to close include flagship branches such as Wolverhampton in September 2025 and Riverside Retail Park in Warrington last month.
Meanwhile, BHS, founded in 1928, was one of the UK’s largest high street store chains, famous for selling clothing and homewares. After going into administration and closing its final 22 stores in 2016, the brand has been revived as an online-only retailer. As of June 2025, it operates one last surviving physical location in Doha, Qatar.
