"We have taken this action because we believe the Secretary of State wrongly interpreted and applied planning policy, to justify his rejection of our scheme on grounds of heritage and environmental concerns.
"We find it hugely disappointing that after two years of support and approvals at every stage, we've been forced to take legal action to overcome a misguided agenda against our scheme, and we will be challenging this to the fullest extent possible."
Sparks Super Saturday is a supersized version of M&S’ popular Sparks giveaway where every week, in every store, a Sparks customer gets their shopping for free. Since M&S relaunched Sparks, its customer reward scheme, back in 2020, they've given away £3.5 million in free shopping including a free shop worth nearly £3.5k.
To be in with a chance of winning, all customers have to do is scan their Sparks card when shopping at their chosen M&S store, or by logging into their Sparks account when shopping online. Customers shopping in store will learn the good news immediately, whilst those shopping online will be notified via email as soon as possible.
M&S is encouraging customers who aren't yet a Sparks member to sign-up ahead of the weekend bonanza. Customers can join in a few simple steps through M&S.com or the M&S app.
Kirsty Ward, who is Director of M&S Connect, said: “Since relaunching Sparks as a Digital First loyalty scheme, we’ve doubled the number of Sparks members, rewarding them with personalised offers, special treats and thank yous."
She went on to add: "And one of Sparks’ members most loved rewards is the chance to get their shopping for free so, for one day only, we’re supersizing it and giving 5,000 lucky customers the opportunity to get their shopping for free, simply by shopping and scanning their Sparks card in store or online!”
Works at the M&S Newcastle store, which has been a fixture of the city’s high street since it first opened its doors way back in 1932, will begin later this month. The redesign will be undertaken in stages so the store will be able to remain trading, serving customer as normal throughout, with the new Foodhall expected to be fully finished later this year. Improvements to the Clothing, Home & Beauty department will follow and be completed by early next year, 2024.
The news follows the announcement the retailer is set to open a brand-new, bigger M&S store at the Galleries Retail Park in Washington. The exciting new store will offer customers a bigger and better range of M&S products than ever before, with the retailer relocating from its existing Simply Food store into a 47,000 sq ft space with a new Clothing, Home & Beauty department and a bigger M&S Foodhall, almost double the size of the current store.
Construction work is already happening to bring together three previously separate units on the Galleries Retail Park to create the special new space.
Ahead of the relocation, the existing M&S Simply Food store in Washington will stay open as normal until the new story is ready, expected to be next spring, 2024. There will be chances for all colleagues working in the current store to transfer to the new M&S Washington Galleries or other local M&S stores and M&S confirms the new store will create extra new jobs for the local community when it opens in 2024.
The £13 million announcement follows investment in the North East by M&S last year to update its store in Newcastle’s Silverlink Shopping Park and the M&S Foodhall in Gosforth.
M&S has 21 owned stores throughout the North East, spanning the region from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Teesside, supporting over 2,100 jobs in local communities, plus an additional 6 M&S stores in hospitals and travel settings including rail and fuel stations.
This latest round of investment will enable M&S to reach even more customers in the North East, delivering the very best of M&S with the latest store designs and new in-store technology.
Helen Cowie, who is the Regional Manager for the North East at M&S, said: “M&S has been a part of local communities across the North East for well in excess 100 years, and throughout that time we’ve always been innovating to keep delivering an excellent shopping experience for our customers, be it the opening of one of our first ever Penny Bazaars in Newcastle’s famous Grainger Market in 1895, or launching our first ever shopping centre site in the country at the Metro Centre back in 1986.
“We’re proud to have been trading from our store on Northumberland Street since 1932. Over the years we’ve undertaken plenty of refurbishments and extensions to make sure the store keeps delivering for local customers and today’s investment – as well as our plans for an exciting new store at Washington Galleries – shows that we’re as committed as ever to offering shoppers in the North East the very best of M&S.”
Last year M&S launched two in-field sensor trials that assisted farmers better support pollinators such as bumblebees and increased crop yields, and now M&S is rolling the technology out to more M&S Select farms likes East Seaton Farm in Arbroath which supplies Red Diamond strawberries to the high-street retailer.
AgriSound Polly technology allows farmers to track the number of pollinators who visit their farm in real-time and target specific interventions, like differing wildflower densities, for improving numbers and yields and quality of crops, as well as benefitting the wider environment.
Specialist listening devices combine acoustic technology and environmental sensors to monitor the density of key pollinators, which include bumblebees and honeybees, plus the wider insect community remotely. The devices collect and send data via mobile data, with users able to see results via a smartphone or web app.
This roll-out will cover a diverse range of M&S’s fruit, veg and salad farms, making up 8% of M&S British growers, with monitors covering 120 habitats and over 1000 hectares, the largest number of growers reached through a retailer-funded trial so far to date. The technology will provide growers access to real-time data and insights to help set their farms up to be more nature-friendly.
At East Seaton Farm, the sensors are to be sited within the Red Diamond strawberry tunnels, to help track which kinds of pollinators are attracted to the strawberry crops. The roll out of this technology will help them determine how many natural predators they now attract through pollen and nectar mixes and evaluate the relative value of these different habitats in attracting pollinators at different times of the year.
Lochy Porter,who is the owner at East Seaton Farm, said: “Pollinators play an extremely vital role in helping us deliver the best quality produce we can at the farm, so we’re keen to see the impact AgriSound technology has on activity.
"With so many current environmental challenges, it’s more important than ever to understand pollinators better. We’re delighted to have been selected by M&S as one of the locations for this expansion and excited to see what beneficial outcomes can be achieved by these relatively simple measures. If we can attract more pollinators to our farm, this will be a huge success for us.”
The collaboration is part of M&S’ Farming with Nature programme, launched back in 2021 to support the retailer’s Select Farmers to become more resilient to environmental challenges spanning climate change and biodiversity loss.
As part of the programme, M&S has partnered with specialist industry partner LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) to strengthen pollinator-friendly farming practices across M&S’s grower base in the UK. M&S British fruit and vegetable growers are adopting higher standards, developed in partnership with LEAF, to boost biodiversity.
This means, for example, growers set aside between 5-10% of habitat for wildlife and monitor numbers of farmland birds and pollinators. Today, M&S Select Farm growers are protecting and enhancing 9,500 hectares of habitats across the UK, with the growers on average setting aside 7% of their farms to wildlife, delivering the biodiversity badly needed across supply chains.
Andrew Clappen, Technical Director at M&S Food, said: “At M&S, our Plan A target is to become a net zero business by 2040. M&S Food makes up the majority of our emissions, with 72% of this coming directly from agriculture. Sustainable farming is not just a nice to have but a necessity for our business.
"Improving biodiversity is at the forefront of our plans to help farmers become more resilient to the impact of climate change. Pollinators are the unsung heroes of British farming – helping to improve yields and quality while benefitting the wider environment.
"Since we launched Farming with Nature, we’ve been hosting workshops offering advice to our M&S Select Farmers on the best ways to attract more pollinators. Now, by expanding out our partnership with AgriSound, farms like East Seaton will have real-time data and valuable insights into what’s working and what’s not.”
Gill Perkins, who is CEO Chief of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, said: “It’s fantastic to see a major retailer investing in supporting and monitoring our essential wild pollinators. Bumblebees and other pollinators ensure the food we eat is nutritious, healthy and tasty, by working in the fields from dawn until dusk every day. They're pivotal to food production and it’s great to see them receive the recognition they deserve and the support they need to survive.”
Casey Woodward, Founder and CEO of AgriSound, said: “We’re delighted M&S has decided to roll-out AgriSound technology to more of its Select Farms. The development of our Polly™ devices has taken years of dedicated research and it is really exciting to see our technology continuing to deliver unique insights into pollinator activity. I look forward to working closely with the Select Farmers to help protect local pollinator communities.”
To learn more about M&S Farming With Nature programme, please visit: Agriculture and Supporting Our Farmers | Marks & Spencer (marksandspencer.com).
The investment will see the store reduce the prices of over 70 family staples and extend its price lock on 150 customer favourites, whilst still upholding its market leading quality and welfare standards.
M&S Food is cutting the price on some of its more popular cupboard staples to support its customers, including products like M&S Select Farms DNA traceable Beef Mince, Avocados, Greek style yoghurt and Ciabatta rolls. These are some of M&S’ most popular lines, with in excess of 400,000 Avocado packs and 140,000 Greek Style Yogurt pots sold by M&S in the last four weeks alone.
Also M&S Food is extending its price lock on 150 products which will be in place right through to the autumn, and features a number of essential food items that customers can rely on at M&S for great value right through the summer months.
This includes M&S Select Farms RSPCA Assured outdoor-bred British Pork Sausages (pack of eight - £2.00), Super Sweet Corn on the Cob (pack of two - £1.40), Traditional Coleslaw (225g - £1.25) the price lock bestseller, British Mature Cheddar (10 Slices 250g - £2.80) and Select Farms Season's Gold Potatoes (1kg - £1.65).
This initiative is in tandem with the retailer’s Remarksable Value range of everyday staples, first launched back in 2019, which are continuously benchmarked against key competitors to guarantee the best value for its customers. The range continues to grow in appeal among M&S shoppers, with Remarksable sales up 40%, and in over 20% of customer baskets over the past year.
Alex Freudmann, who is the MD at M&S Food: opined: “We know value is everything to our customers especially at the moment and while they’re looking forward to a great summer, they’re also looking for certainty on spending. Our latest price investment across 200 products upholds our trusted value promise and delivers on that certainty.
“Trusted value means offering the best possible quality at the best possible price. I’m proud we're the number one retailer for farm animal welfare, selling the biggest range of RSPCA Assured products, including our Scottish Smoked Salmon fillets and British Pork Sausages, alongside our DNA traceable Beef mince, able to be traced back to the individual farm and animal."
He went on to say: "We’re determined to keep up the pace for our customers. Our value perception is at its highest point in six years because we relentlessly focus on price with no compromise to the magic of M&S Food, our market leading product quality, innovation and sourcing standards.”
In February this year, M&S topped consumer group Which?’s annual supermarket satisfaction survey, achieving the highest overall customer score of 77% and receiving five star ratings for store appearance, customer service and quality of own label and fresh products.