Retail expert urges Peterborough's Queensgate Shopping Centre to get on with changes after M&S closure shock

A retail expert has urged Queensgate Shopping Centre bosses to get on with their long-awaited improvement plans after M&S announced it wants to permanently close its store in the mall.

Dr Cheryl Greyson, senior lecturer in business at ARU Peterborough, says the 41-year-old centre quickly needs its long overdue cinema, new restaurants and retailers in place to attract more shoppers from the city and surrounding area.

Her comments come in the wake of an announcement by retailer M&S that it is currently consulting with staff about plans to close its store in the Queensgate.

The move has been described as a ‘hammer blow’ as the store sits across three storeys in the centre and with the announcement coming just three years after the departure of Queensgate anchor retailer John Lewis and fashion retailer Next.

M&S, which also has stores in the Serpentine Green shopping centre in Hampton and at the Brotherhood Retail Park, says its closure plans come as shopping habits change meaning the retailer has to ‘rotate its store estate’ to ensure it has the right outlets to offer customers a ‘brilliant’ shopping experience.

Dr Greyson said: “The news that M&S is leaving the Queensgate Shopping Centre because of ‘changing shopping habits’ is really disappointing for the city centre.

"But it’s not surprising that they want to concentrate their efforts on their more modern store formats at the Brotherhood Retail Park and Serpentine Green Shopping Centre.

“These have great accessibility and free parking.

“Today’s shoppers are looking for shopping centres with a mix of retail and leisure, and exciting store formats or experiences.

“While Queensgate is clearly making plans to move in this direction, with the cinema and restaurant complex on the cards, and Frasers mooted to take over part of the former John Lewis store, these changes need to happen to entice shoppers from Peterborough and further afield into the city centre.”

Queensgate bosses first unveiled its £60 million cinema and restaurant plans in 2015.

A 10 screen IMAX cinema on the roof of the centre was to be part of a 77,000 square feet extension of the Queensgate that would see the introduction of a string of restaurants and retailers.

Construction began in 2019 and finished in 2022 but by then John Lewis, which occupied four floors in the centre, and Next had closed and left.

There followed a lengthy silence about the intentions of the chosen cinema operator Empire until in July last year it was announced the company had gone into administration.

The following month it was revealed that retail giant Frasers was to move into the former John Lewis unit, and more recently that a new operator had been found for the cinema.

But official confirmation of both has not been forthcoming but is expected imminently.

A major gain for the Queensgate was the arrival of mini-golf brand Puttstars in a £2.6 million deal in April 2022.

The M&S store, which features a food hall, fashion department and cafe, was opened eight years ago after M&S closed its Bridge Street store and moved the operations into a much expanded outlet in Queensgate.

The closure of the new store is expected to take place by April and M&S hopes to find alternative jobs for many of the staff.