I don’t think it would be overstating it to say that the people of Abingdon and neighbouring villages have been waiting for this day for months.

Store Manager Paddy Sunderland, who has been with Marks & Spencer for over six years, said on the official M&S website: “We cannot wait to open our brand-new store in the heart of Oxfordshire.”

The waiting is nearly over. The opening date is Wednesday 22nd April 2026 at 8 am. So be there at 7:50 am to see the doors open for the first time and perhaps get a picture of the 75 staff and the ribbon cutting.

This 18,000 square foot M&S Foodhall at Fairacres Retail Park stands on the site of the former Homebase. Where there were once fitted bathrooms and lawn mowers, there will rotisserie chickens and strawberries.

Much of the fresh produce will come from M&S Select Farm partners, with over 60 based in Oxfordshire.

A Click & Collect point will allow shoppers to pick up online orders, including fashion items. There will also be free Wi-Fi and a coffee shop, according to the M&S store page https://www.marksandspencer.com/stores/abingdon-fairacres-7778.

The store will be open 8am–9pm Monday to Saturday, and 10am–4pm on Sundays. The opening has also created around 75 jobs, many of them local.

And what of the public reaction?
‘Can’t wait’
‘We will be there’

There are the usual local questions:
‘Traffic queues?’
‘Effect on town centre shops?’

By Wednesday morning, the doors will open, the wait will be over, and we will know.