THE closing date of Colchester's Marks and Sepencer has officially been revealed… days after campaigners met with bosses in the hope of convincing them to reconsider.

The brand, which has been a staple of the Colchester High Street for nearly a century, will shut its doors for the last time on September 6.

Posters have been displayed in windows of the historic store confirming the news and encouraging shoppers to visit the retail juggernaut’s new Stanway site.

Offering everything from food and clothing to homeware, the Stane Retail Park complex will open the day after the closure of the city centre supermarket.

Gazette:

The arrival of the closing down signs will no doubt be a dagger to the heart of dedicated customers who have tirelessly campaigned against the relocation.

Colchester High Steward Sir Bob Russell, who bought shares in M&S so he could raise concerns at its annual meeting, said: “It’s like trying to turn around a huge ship.

“With momentum at full speed to open the new store at Stanway – with the transfer of High Street staff – it would have been too much to call a halt.

“However, this does not mean there is no hope for further thought with the High Street premises.”

Since Marks and Spencer bosses confirmed they had decided to shut the High Street store after 91 years, activists have tirelessly made their voices heard.

They met with the company’s regional commercial manager Tom Nicholson and the head of property planning Robert Morray to discuss a potential U-turn.

Gazette:

Sir Bob, who himself has a meeting planned with M&S chairman Archie Norman, has now said the way the supermarket has gone about announcing the closing datte is insulting.

“The poster says ‘A big thank you to all our wonderful Colchester customers’, but that does not chime well with M&S slamming the door in the faces of those wonderful, loyal, Colchester customers,” he added.

“The best way to get Marks and Spencer to think again about Colchester High Street is for existing Marks and Spencer customers to refuse to go to the new store at Stanway.

“Their loyalty is being taken for granted. Customers have the freedom of choice where they shop. They are not compelled to go to a soulless retail park.”