M&s store planned near M65 services in Lancashire as Colne foodhall details revealed
Plans for a new m&s Food Hall beside the EG On The Move motorway services at the end of the M65 in Colne have been published for public consultation, with promoters targeting an opening in Autumn 2027 and a construction start if permission is granted in late 2026. The proposals set out floor areas, parking, local supply links and sustainability measures that the developers say will shape the site and its role for nearby communities.
M&s and Monte Blackburn outline the Colne foodhall
The project is being advanced by Monte Blackburn Ltd, the property arm linked to the Issa brothers, in partnership with Marks & Spencer. Plans unveiled describe a new 2, 300 sq m (7, 545 sq ft) Food Hall located next to the EG On The Move services at the end of the M65. Separate material for the scheme shows alternative area figures for the store footprint: a 24, 748 sq ft store is cited, with a trading floor area of 17, 990 sq ft in online consultation documents. The wider rollout of foodhall-format stores has been noted as part of the retailer's national activity.
Consultation, planning and timetable
The promoters have opened a public consultation seeking views from local people and businesses ahead of a joint full planning application to Pendle Council. The consultation listing includes the entry 10 March 2026 - 10 March 2026, 2: 45 - 3: 45. If planning permission is granted, construction could start in late 2026 with an anticipated opening in Autumn 2027. One communication from the landowner says there is no comment at this stage.
Jobs, parking and sustainability features
The proposed store would create up to 70 new jobs. Around 170 customer parking spaces would be created, landscaped and integrated into the existing access road that serves the roadside services. The car park is planned to include EV charging points, accessible bays and secure cycle parking. The building and site proposals highlight energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, solar PV panels and rooftop photovoltaic panels alongside biodiversity enhancements.
Local supply links and neighbouring services
Planners say the food hall would back British farming and work with Lancashire-based suppliers named in consultation materials, such as Bright Blue Foods in Shadsworth and Winterbotham Darby in Clitheroe. The proposed site sits adjacent to EG On The Move Colne on Whitewalls Drive, where the forecourt operator's Colne services—opened in November 2024—include a filling station and retail and food outlets such as Spar, Starbucks, Subway and Sbarro. The development is described as being close to Banny’s British Kitchen and Boundary Outlet Colne. EG On The Move’s Colne opening was part of an expansion that took the EG On The Move operation to 45 sites, of which 34 were acquired from EG Group in the same month; the forecourt business is headed by Zuber Issa.
Separate Frontier Park scheme and wider Lancashire context
The Colne proposal is described as separate to a stalled Monte Blackburn and Marks & Spencer scheme for a £10. m food hall on Frontier Park. That Frontier Park development had been granted planning permission by Hyndburn Council in April but is currently awaiting a High Court hearing following a second legal challenge from a supermarket backed by Blackburn with Darwen Council. Elsewhere in Lancashire, a Monte/Marks & Spencer project at Southgate Trade Park in Hyndburn is set out as a multi-let proposal on a 7. 2-acre site featuring 69 units; that scheme has been the subject of legal wrangling.
The consultation materials stress delivery of new local jobs and enhanced product availability for customers while promising low-carbon systems and support for local suppliers. The planning application stage will determine whether the timetable targeting late 2026 construction and an Autumn 2027 opening can proceed.
