A 10-year wrangle over a prime location in a Birmingham suburb will finally come to an end when work starts on a new Marks & Spencer store next week.
Construction is expected to begin on a M&S Food store on the old Meteor Ford site in St Mary’s Row, in Moseley, which has lain dormant for a decade.
The site was at the centre of a “snobbery” row after Tesco withdrew a plan for the land following huge opposition from Moseley residents, prompting years of inactivity.
Fiona Adams, of the Moseley Society, said most people were glad to finally see progress on the site.
“Marks & Spencer will be a good employer of local people,” she said. “On the whole, people are pleased that finally something is happening on the site and it is not going to be vacant any longer. There are mixed views but the overwhelming feeling is, as it has been empty since 2006, it is good to see progress.
“We’re hoping there is going to be a medical centre there as well, and there is space for another retail unit.
“Now, Marks & Spencer have signed up, hopefully there will be a big queue for next door.”
Ms Adams said the retail giant finally signed the lease on April 26.
A new medical centre was a condition of the Tesco project – and was expected to be constructed first – but that plan failed to come to reality.
Planning permission for Marks & Spencer on the former car dealership was granted in 2014.
At the time, Moseley councillor Martin Mullaney said: “Now people are giddy about M&S, they have forgotten about the health centre”.
Moseley has been at the centre of several rows about big chains driving out independent retailers. Pizza Express became the latest in February, when plans for a restaurant on Alcester Road were revealed. That followed a “Keep Moseley Special” campaign which was launched in protest at the spread of big-name chains, after Costa Coffee and Boston Tea Party both targeted the suburban village.
