The store closed on May 25, 2024, after months of anger following Marks and Spencer’s announcement in January that the chain was pulling out of High Street West as its new, expanded out-of-town store opened at The Galleries Retail Park. Sign up to our daily newsletter Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Sunderland Echo, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. The building is the property of Labour controlled Sunderland City Council, but M&S holds the lease until March 2027 and are responsible for the building until then.
Advertisement Advertisement Conservative councillors attempted to have the building listed, but Historic England rejected the application as not meeting the necessary criteria. Sunderland City Council executive Patrick Melia was then quoted in June as confirming the building would be demolished, though no date has been announced. Conservative Cllr Lyall Reed, whose St Michael’s ward includes part of the city centre - though not High Street West - is still pushing for some form of protection for the empty shop .
"Whilst disappointed that our application to get the Marks and Spencer building listed didn't go through this time, the Sunderland Conservatives are still determined to protect the history of the building and the beauty it brings to our struggling city centre,” he said. Advertisement Advertisement "Despite denials at the time by some, c.
