Mega new UK retail park with ‘show-stopping’ M&S, Greggs and B&Q gets green light in boost for tiny seaside town

M&S has been given the green light to open a brand new store at a development in a tiny seaside town. The posh nosh maker has set its sights on a new food branch in Littlehampton after a planning application for a new retail park was given the go ahead. A mock up of what the new retail park could look like has been shared by developers The application from Hallway Properties Ltd for the Watersmead Business Park site, was approved by the planning committee on Wednesday, July 22, according to The Argus. The new development will also make way for a brand new, Lidl, B&Q and Greggs. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! It comes as more than 1,400 locals in the area wrote letters of support to welcome the development and new M&S branch. Mike Devine, of the M&S property team, told the outlet: “We are now one step closer to bringing the very best of M&S Food to Littlehampton from a show-stopping store and creating new local jobs. “We will make sure to keep the community updated as plans progress.” The move is expected to create 500 jobs, including 70 at M&S Food. An exact date for the opening is yet to be confirmed. There is more good news for fans of the popular high street store. Most read in Money M&S will open a 20,000 sq ft foodhall in Poole come August 12. In just a few weeks, shoppers can enjoy a dedicated flower and plant shop along with all their usual favourites from the brand. The store is housed in a former Homebase unit that has been sitting vacant since February 2025. Elsewhere, the brand has also rolled out four iconic St Michael chocolate bars – Jet, Now, Sparks and Coconut Grove – from the 1970s. Comment now