£10m retail park opens for business

The new St Michael’s Retail Park in Ripon has been successfully launched, with anchor tenant M&S Foodhall opening its 11,000 sq ft store to customers for the first time.

The £10m investment into Ripon is a joint venture between developers CDP Marshall and Leeds-based retail and leisure specialist, Rothstone Estates.

St Michael’s Retail Park is on Rotary Way, off the A61 Ripon bypass. Alongside the M&S Foodhall, further retail units have been completed and are ready to let offering flexible space between 1,000 sq ft and 13,000 sq ft (GIA), with open A1 non-food retail planning permission.

The development benefits from 146 parking spaces. Once fully let, the retail park will extend to 24,000 sq ft at ground floor, with additional potential space at mezzanine level.

Mark Rothery, managing director of Rothstone, said: “It is fantastic to see St Michael’s Retail Park opening to the public.

“The M&S Foodhall is a high quality anchor for this new development, which is superbly located next to the A61 and within a few minutes’ walk to Ripon city centre.

“This is the first major new retail floorspace to open in Ripon in around a decade and presents an attractive opportunity for potential occupiers seeking space in this affluent city.

“The potential for growth in Ripon is enormous. It’s a well visited city with a principal retail catchment way beyond Ripon itself and being close to the A61 and A1M, has a significant population within a 20 minute drive time.

“There has been strong interest in the other space already and we hope to announce more occupiers shortly.”

Joint agents on St Michael’s Retail Park are Savills and Cheetham & Mortimer.