M&s lines up Colne foodhall next to M65 services with 170 parking spaces and 70 jobs
Plans backing a new m&s Food Hall in Colne, Lancashire, have been unveiled for a site next to motorway services at the end of the M65, opening a public consultation ahead of a planning application to Pendle Council. The proposals include significant parking, sustainability features and multiple size figures for the building, with construction timetables flagged for late 2026 and an anticipated opening in Autumn 2027.
M&s Colne foodhall: site, size and timetable
The proposals place a food store adjacent to the EG On The Move services at the end of the M65 where Whitewalls Drive meets the motorway. Different documents connected to the scheme list several size figures: one description sets the new Food Hall at 2, 300 sq m (7, 545 sq ft), another reference cites a 24, 748 sq ft store, and online consultation pages list a trading floor area of 17, 990 sq ft. Plans indicate construction could start in late 2026 if permission is granted, with opening anticipated in Autumn 2027, and there is language expressing the retailer’s intention to deliver more products to local customers.
Design, sustainability and parking
The scheme includes around 170 customer car parking places, to be landscaped and integrated into the existing access road serving the roadside services. The car park will incorporate EV charging points, accessible bays and secure cycle parking. Building features noted in consultation documents include energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, rooftop solar PV panels, and biodiversity enhancements.
Jobs, local suppliers and local impact
The proposed store would create up to 70 new jobs. Materials accompanying the consultation highlight commitments to supporting British farming and working with Lancashire-based suppliers named in the documents, including Bright Blue Foods in Shadsworth and Winterbotham Darby in Clitheroe. The consultation text states the food hall will strengthen those supplier relationships and contribute to Lancashire’s economic resilience.
Consultation, commentary and technical queries
A public consultation has been opened to gather views from local people and businesses before a full planning application is submitted to Pendle Council. The consultation pages include technical and community questions, including a query about whether 36MW of electricity is available either in Trafford Park or across the whole UK. A timestamp linked to consultation content shows "10 March 2026 - 10 March 2026, 2: 45 - 3: 45" as part of the online material.
Ownership, neighbouring services and context
The landowner named for the site is Monte Blackburn, the property arm of the Issa brothers. Monte Blackburn and the retailer will submit a joint full application for the scheme. The forecourt operator at the Colne services is EG On The Move, headed by Zuber Issa, which opened its Colne location in November 2024; that new-build development brought EG On The Move to 45 sites after 34 were acquired from a previous operator in the same month. EG On The Move Colne features a filling station, Spar, Starbucks, Subway and Sbarro, and the development sits close to Banny’s British Kitchen and Boundary Outlet Colne.
Planning background and related legal matters
The M65 site has existing planning approval for a small warehouse development, but a separate joint full application for the food hall will be submitted. The proposals are explicitly separate from a stalled Monte Blackburn and retailer project for a £10. m food hall on Frontier Park. That Frontier Park development was granted planning permission by Hyndburn Council in April and is currently awaiting a High Court hearing following a second legal challenge from supermarket Tesco backed by Blackburn with Darwen Council. Elsewhere in Lancashire, a Monte/retailer project in Hyndburn on a 7. 2-acre site at Southgate Trade Park is described as a multi-let proposal featuring 69 units and has been the subject of a legal wrangle.
Other nearby notes
Additional brief items in the material include a short line noting that an Issa Brothers' cemetery plan was withdrawn again. Planning and consultation remain active elements of the scheme, and the proposal’s different size figures and timetable references reflect materials from separate documents and consultation pages.
Recent updates indicate the consultation is live and that a planning application will follow; details may evolve as the application is prepared and considered by Pendle Council.
