NEWS of plans to close Wokingham’s Marks & Spencer store have made national headlines today, including a piece in The Times. Now John Redwood has revealed he is getting involved in a bid to stop the store from closing.
And a resident has set up a petition to try and force M&S bosses from shutting up shop in July.
Writing in his blog, Mr Redwood – who is standing for the Conservatives in the forthcoming General Election – said: “I have written back to Marks and Spencer asking why they think they need to close the store, and why they are pessimistic about its future turnover and profitability.
“They need to examine their merchandising and marketing strategy for what should be a successful and profitable store.
“They also need to take into account the growth of Wokingham and the surrounding area as new housing goes in.”
He pledged to let residents know what response he received.
Steve Rowe chief executive: Save our local M & S in Wokingham from closure – Sign the Petition! https://t.co/cFchCZFsGY via @UKChange
— Fiona Anderson (@FionaLegal) April 21, 2017
And resident Fiona Anderson took to Twitter to reveal that she had started a petition aimed at getting M&S Chief Executive Steve Rowe to reverse the decision.
The petition notes: “It’s well used by everyone: the elderly, workers, mums and dads, families. It has easy access for pedestrians, for all those who don’t have cars and there are plenty of us”.
It also adds that the Simply Food store that has opened in the BP garage on Finchampstead Road is no replacement for those wanting their Percy Pig fix without travelling to Earley or Bracknell.
“There is no access for pedestrians, it’s on a busy main road with no public transport, and it’s out of town. Plus it doesn’t hold 25% of the current range as Peach St. store does,” the petition notes.
Also standing in Wokingham are Clive Jones for the Liberal Democrats. At the time of writing, Labour, UKIP and the Greens have yet to confirm their candidates.