Marks & Spencer to Build £31 Million Ipswich Flagship Store

Marks & Spencer will begin construction early next year on a £31 million flagship store at the Copdock Interchange outside Ipswich. The 60,000 sq ft full-line store will occupy a former Toys R Us site that has been vacant since 2018, offering a combination of food, fashion, and beauty products. The project is expected to create over 120 new local jobs and includes 328 customer parking spaces, 43 staff spaces, and 24 cycle spaces.

Babergh District Council unanimously approved the plans in December 2025. While some councillors raised concerns regarding traffic light placement, access ramp steepness, and the potential impact on town centre footfall, the council concluded that the economic benefits and workforce upskilling outweighed these risks.

To secure the site from Ipswich Borough Assets, the retailer entered an agreement with Ipswich Borough Council to keep its existing Westgate Street store open. This clause reverses previous expectations that the town centre location would close once the new flagship opened. While an official opening date is not yet set, the company has targeted July 2027, though previous estimates suggested autumn 2027.