Excitement for White Rose Shopping Centre as M&S megastore and train station near completion

All new developments are set to transform the 120 store shopping hub, which first opened its doors in 1997.

First announced in January as part of a nationwide investment to expand and improve its stores, Marks and Spencer are opening a new megastore at the White Rose this summer.

The brand, which already has a shop inside the shopping centre, is moving into the large unit vacated by Debenhams, which collapsed amid the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Also due to open later this year is the new White Rose station, which sits between Morley and Cottingley on the Transpennine route.

The £26m station, which sits adjacent to the White Rose Office Park, and close to the White Rose Shopping Centre, is set to open its doors later this year, promising to "connect more people with job, training, education and leisure opportunities"

The venue was badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic with a number of stores closing down, while its Cineworld is also at risk after the popular cinema chain fell into bankruptcy.

In October the White Rose celebrated the official opening of its £950,000 The Scribbling Mill, Wetherspoons pub with centre bosses promising that further new openings are still to come.

Steven Foster, Centre Director: “White Rose utilises vinyls and hoardings to cover an empty unit for health and safety reasons when there is major development works going on behind it. We’ve got some exciting development work going on at White Rose, and we’re looking forward to sharing more details on our new retailers and restaurants soon – including a flagship M&S and the new Bianco Lounge café bar in The Village.

"We’ll also see the opening of the new train station at White Rose later in 2023, which will be great for getting to and from the centre as well as beneficial to the local community.

“We’ll be making announcements on more new brands taking over vacant units when the time is right, and in the meantime we’ve welcomed a brand new Rituals store plus a refurbished Beaverbrooks including a Tag Heuer boutique for our visitors to enjoy this month.”