There is heartbreak in Bolton following the announcement that another of the town's flagship stores is to close its doors. On the other side of Greater Manchester, Marks & Spencer is gearing up to open a new store in Stockport and open a larger store at the Trafford Centre.
Yet in Bolton, the much-loved M&S on Deansgate is set to shut. As shoppers made their way through the town centre's streets on a bitterly cold Wednesday morning (January 18), there was huge disappointment at the news, matched by concern for the future of the town centre.
"I think it's the saddest day that's ever come," one woman, who asked not to be named, told the Manchester Evening News. The 64-year-old explained she was only in town because of work, but M&S was the one place she would visit regularly.
"It's the only place where you can go and get all your essentials that you need and you don't have to go out of town," she said. "There's a lot of people that use M&S, it's always busy. I don't use Bolton now. There's nothing here for anybody anymore."
Her comments summed up a general worry about a 'demise' that had descended on Bolton's town centre in recent years. National brands like Debenhams and BHS have departed, along with much-loved local favourites, such as Prestons of Bolton and Beales.
Those with long memories of the town centre have been left devastated by what it has become. "It's yet another death blow to the town centre," said Tom Garside, 66.
"I'm born and bred in Bolton, it used to be a thriving town. You look at Bury and it's thriving. This is like a tomb.
"I don't think the council know how to attract new businesses when businesses leave. Debenhams has gone, BHS, Mothercare, all the big shops have gone. It's all phones and betting shops, charity shops and fast food."
Mr Garside also felt the redevelopment of Bolton's Market Place more than a decade ago was also a step in the wrong direction. The project saw the old market hall transformed into a mall with major brands.
"We wanted it refurbished, but kept as it was," said Mr Garside. "They took all the small things out of it and turned it into the joke it is now."
His wife, Annette Garside, is originally from South Wales. The 64-year-old felt the town had changed a lot over the decades she had lived in Bolton.
"It's very, very sad to see it as it is now," she said. "When I first came here it was wonderful. Then over all the years we've been married, it's surprising how it's just gone. There's a lot of space for shops now where there used to be shops.
"There is some beautiful architecture here in Bolton, some of these buildings are really beautiful. It's worrying to think what's going to happen to it all."
John and Anne Cahill, a couple in their 70s, also feel the closure of M&S is another symbol of a declining town centre. "There's nothing, unless you want to put a bet on," said Mr Cahill.
"It's slowly deteriorated. In the 70s, when I moved here, it was a cracking place to shop - people came here from all over the place.
"The council don't seem to know what they are doing. They ruined the market hall, Bradshawgate is virtually shut down, nothing is happening with these developments. It's a definite decline."
Mrs Cahill added: "It's gone downhill. After Debenhams went people said, if M&S goes, that will be it. We've got nothing to come into Bolton for."
M&S has blamed changing 'shopping habits' for the decision to close the Bolton store. Farah Malik, 56, believes online shopping is not always a positive step forward.
She said: "It's convenient - maybe the new generation prefer the internet but I prefer to go out, see the people. It's better than staying at home.
"Normally I go to M&S and buy the items I need. Their exchange policy is very good as well. If there's any problem they normally try to fix it.
"Of course, I'm not happy. Where do we go? If you go online you don't know the material, the size or anything. It's not the same."
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Elizabeth Cole, 60, added: "I'm very disappointed about it. I just think it will be detrimental to Bolton. There's been enough with covid going on, I don't think it's good.
"I just think the town has gone downhill. I've lived here most of my life. It's all closing, there's no openings."
In a statement announcing the store's closure, M&S regional manager Ben Heaps said: "Shopping habits are changing, so we're rotating our store estate to make sure we have the right stores to offer customers a brilliant shopping experience. As part of this transformation, we have today announced to colleagues our proposal to close our M&S Bolton store at 35 Deansgate.
"Our priority now is to talk to our colleagues about what this announcement means for them and wherever possible, offer them alternative roles with M&S. We appreciate that this will be disappointing news for some but it means we can invest in many of our other stores in the North West.
"We will be working hard to keep serving customers in our nearby local stores – including our M&S Middlebrook and M&S Bury The Rock stores which both offer a wide range of M&S Food and Clothing & Home products, and our nearby M&S Foodhalls in Walkden and Prestwich where customers can also Click & Collect purchases from M&S.com.” M&S says it is also investing in some existing stores, including at The Rock, plus new stores such as the Stockport M&S Foodhall.
A spokesperson for Bolton Council added: “We are extremely disappointed by the news that Marks & Spencer plans to close their Bolton town centre store. M&S is a hugely popular flagship destination for Bolton shoppers, and we will be contacting the business to make the case that it should remain open.
“We regularly update our plans for the future of the wider town centre and will now be considering our options given this latest development. The council continues its work to attract more private investment into the town centre, including at our the upcoming Invest in Bolton event on March 2.”
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