Marks and Spencer has officially announced when it will be closing one of its stores.

Retailer M&S had outlined plans to shut its Crawley branch in March, which prompted concerns for the future of the area.

This follows the decision to close the Swindon town centre store which had also been there for a number of years. 

The closure is said to be part of the retailer's plans to meet changing shopping habits, echoing comments made to the Swindon Advertiser at the time of the Brunel Shopping Centre's branch closure.

It has now officially announced that the store, which has been in Queensway for decades, will close its doors for good on November 16.

Graham Bennett, M&S regional manager, said: “After consulting with our colleagues following our proposals earlier this year, our Queensway store will close on Saturday, November 16.

“Individual conversations are continuing with our colleagues and wherever possible, we will be offering them alternative roles with M&S.

“Thank you to all our customers who have shopped at the store - we will continue to work hard serving you at our nearby Acorn Park M&S Food.”

When the news of the closure was announced earlier this year, residents shared concerns as to what this could mean for their town.

M&S Crawley branch will close on November 16 (Image: Google)

Graham Bourne said: "Crawley town centre has gone right downhill. The loss of M&S is another nail in the coffin."

Another resident, Tracey Sutton, said: "Poor Crawley will have nothing left soon the last time I went up there it looked so sad.

"We need our shops."

Residents have raised concern that Crawley town centre is going 'downhill' (Image: Eddie Mitchell)

The Crawley branch is one of over 100 branches projected to close in the coming years.

Mr. Bennett added: ”Shopping habits are changing and our store rotation strategy is all about making sure we have the right stores with the right space – in the past year we have invested more than £12m in our stores across the South East.

“We remain open to investing in a new, accessible M&S store in Crawley in the future, subject to being able to find the right type of site.”