M&S new foodhall opening date for Abingdon is announced

Work is now taking place at the former Homebase unit at Fairacres Retail Park to prepare for opening next week.

The retail site spans more than 18,000 sq ft and the foodhall comes as part of the ongoing M&S “rotation and renewal programme”.

READ MORE: M&S foodhall update

The new store is creating 75 jobs and recruitment has been taking place.

Today M&S announced Wednesday, April 22 as the opening date.

Staff at M&S (Image: M&S)

Paddy Sunderland, store manager at M&S Abingdon, has worked at M&S for six years.

He said: “We cannot wait to open our brand-new store in the heart of Oxfordshire.

“The team and I are so excited to welcome customers through the doors and showcase the very best of M&S Food and the quality and trusted value we’re known for.

“With the full range of M&S Food products, we have everything for customers’ weekly shop but also something for everyone, whether grabbing lunch on the go or wanting to try our latest seasonal launches. Follow our store social page here for all the latest updates.”

The store will offer the full M&S Food range, from everyday essentials to household must-haves and the latest new product launches.

 Customers can look forward to an in-store bakery and coffee counter, offering a selection of freshly baked breads and pastries, as well as a range of barista-made takeaway drinks and a hot chicken counter, serving BBQ and butter-basted flavour British rotisserie chicken.

Fairacres Retail Park in Abingdon (Image: Andy Ffrench)

The store will also offer fresh produce from M&S’ Select Farm partners – over 60 of which are based in Oxfordshire – and M&S’ Remarkable Value and family-friendly Bigger Pack Better Value ranges will be available across the foodhall.

A dedicated Click & Collect point will also make collecting online fashion, home and beauty orders easy.

The opening has created 75 new jobs, including specialist in-store bakery and hot food counter roles and across customer service and operations.

M&S Abingdon is one of 12 former Homebase sites across the UK developed by M&S into new ‘market-style’ foodhalls.

Opening hours for the new store are between 8am and 9pm Monday to Saturday and between 10am and 4pm on Sundays.

Lidl and Costa Coffee are neighbouring businesses at the retail park off Marcham Road.

Local shoppers have welcomed the arrival of the new foodhall, as it will save them a journey to Didcot or Oxford.

In September, Sunny Day Gentian Abingdon, the company which took over the running of Bury Street precinct in 2021, objected to the M&S plans but it did not deter Vale of White Horse District Council from giving the new foodhall the go-ahead.

Planning consultants argued that the new foodhall going ahead at the retail park could jeopardise improvement plans for the precinct.