Planning officers have recommended approval for a new M&S Food store at Queen's Drive Retail Park in Kilmarnock, despite describing the proposal as significantly contrary to the development plan. The recommendation comes with a key condition: a £100,000 contribution towards town centre improvements.
The application, which seeks permission to use Units 3 and 4 at the retail park for food sales, will go before East Ayrshire Council's planning committee on Friday, October 23. The units, previously occupied by Carpetright and Home Bargains, are currently vacant.
More than 360 representations supporting the application were made, compared to just six objections.
Proposal details and existing restrictions
The proposed store would have a gross internal area of 1,870 square metres and a total net sales area of 1,325 square metres. Most of that space, 1,195 square metres, would be for convenience goods, with 130 square metres for other goods.
The application asks for an existing planning restriction to be relaxed. Units 3 and 4 are currently covered by a condition which excludes food and drink sales from the range of goods that can be sold there.
Planning officers say the application is a local development but must be decided by the planning committee because the proposal is “significantly contrary” to policy. The central issue is the effect of allowing a new foodstore at an out-of-centre retail park, particularly when M&S already operates from King Street in Kilmarnock town centre.
King Street store closure and job retention
The applicant has confirmed that the existing King Street M&S store will close either when its lease expires at the end of March 2027 or when the lease expires at the new Queens Drive premises, depending on which situation arises.
In support of the proposal, the applicant argues that the new foodstore would allow M&S to continue trading in Kilmarnock. M&S has indicated it would retain and safeguard the 71 existing jobs currently employed in the King Street store.
The applicant has also submitted a planning and retail statement, a sequential assessment, a transport statement, a waste management plan and information responding to the impact of the proposal.
Mitigation and objections
A key part of the proposed mitigation is the £100,000 contribution towards town centre improvements. Planning officers are recommending that approval is granted, but that the decision notice is withheld until a Section 75 legal agreement, or another legal mechanism, secures that payment. The report says the contribution is intended to offset the impact of the proposal.
Supporters of the proposal have pointed to the use of currently vacant units, the retention of M&S within Kilmarnock, the safeguarding of existing jobs and the town centre contribution.
However, the report also highlights the tension between retaining a major retailer in the town and the potential loss of an anchor from King Street. The existing town centre store forms part of Kilmarnock's traditional shopping area, while Queens Drive Retail Park is a designated commercial centre to the south-east of the town centre.
Objections focus on the impact of moving M&S food shopping out of Kilmarnock town centre and into Queens Drive Retail Park. They argue that the proposal would further weaken King Street and the wider town centre by removing a long-standing retailer and shifting more footfall to an out-of-centre location.
Concerns were also raised that the retail park is car-dependent, making the store less accessible for people who rely on walking, buses or town-centre shopping trips. The objections also point to potential traffic and parking pressures around Queens Drive, as well as the principle of relaxing an existing planning restriction that currently prevents food and drink sales from Units 3 and 4.
The proposal would use the existing parking at Queens Drive Retail Park. Access would be from Queens Drive, with parking serving the retail park as a whole and servicing provided to the rear of the units.
Planning officers acknowledge that the proposal is significantly contrary to the development plan, but recommend approval, providing the £100,000 town centre improvement contribution is included. Councillors are due to consider the application at the planning committee on Friday, October 23.
