M&S: It's uphill but all is not lost
20 August 2007
Mr Malik described the outcome of the meeting at the town hall on Friday as giving ground for optimism, but issued a heart-felt appeal to Kirklees to buck up their ideas and start taking Dewsbury seriously.
In an exclusive interview with The Reporter following the meeting with M&S the Labour MP said that although the situation looked bleak he had not given up hope and would continue fighting for a result: "All is not lost and from where we are it is extremely uphill but there is some hope. I will now be speaking to the council, Yorkshire Forward and private developers to see if we can create the conditions which would allow M&S to come back to Dewsbury in the not too distant future."
The government minister met with M&S regional manager Paul Mateland and the high street retailers' government affairs specialist Jane Hill to discuss the shock decision to close its Dewsbury store. Area Committee chair Councillor Eric Firth and Councillor Paul Kane who has led on regeneration in the town centre also attended the hastily arranged meeting.
Mr Malik said that during the meeting he had set out the challenge to keep M&S in Dewsbury. He also confirmed that he would put his efforts into leading the fight to bring together stakeholders and develop a package of measures that might result in M & S returning back to the town but warned that there would be no quick fix solution.
"The challenge has been laid down and it's now up to Kirklees to prove to me, and everybody else in the town that they're serious about Dewsbury and committed to bringing M&S back here. I only wish that they would demonstrate just one ounce of the dedication and energy they gave to realising the Kingsgate development in Huddersfield to sustaining existing business in Dewsbury, let alone new projects."
The MP said that the presence of M&S in Dewsbury gave confidence to the rest of the High Street and that he will be organising a meeting with senior officials from Yorkshire Forward and Kirklees to look at providing the retailer with a package that would attract them back to Dewsbury, and at the same time to look at incentives that would attract other big name retailers into town.
"It's inconceivable that the council has no structure in place to nurture and grow relationships with existing and potential retailers in what is an increasingly challenging commercial environment. I walked away from the meeting with M&S feeling their desire to remain in the town on a profitable basis quite obvious and frankly understandable but dumbfounded that nobody from Kirklees Council had bothered to contact them in more than two years. It's obvious that had their ambition to stay in the town been matched with equal enthusiasm and commitment from Kirklees Council we may not be in the regrettable position of watching them close the doors on a piece of Dewsbury heritage."
"In truth, key components of our local economy - traders large and small - have found themselves frustrated by complete indifference from Kirklees for too long."
Mr Malik said that following the Reporter story last week he had been inundated with support from local people: "I've been overwhelmed by the number of positive letters and emails I've received over the last week. On Friday I had lunch in the Sea Urchin and then coffee in Geo's and lost count of the number of people who stopped me and offered their support. Unsurprisingly perhaps, nobody agreed with the Conservative Councillors who accused me of 'sniping' - which demonstrates just how out of touch they are with Dewsbury people. Instead, people felt that at long last someone was really standing up for them."
The MP also poured scorn on claims from Kirklees cabinet members that regeneration of the town was progressing at an acceptable pace, dismissing their handling of plans for Dewsbury as clumsy, hurried and lacking any meaningful direction.
"It may well be an acceptable pace for those who don't live in Dewsbury but that argument doesn't cut much ice here. If I have to tread on a few toes or upset one or two Conservative Councillors along the way then so be it. I've held my tongue until now, and it's been a sincere test of my patience, but I've been here for long enough to realise that Dewsbury is getting a raw deal. That has to change."
"None of those who have criticised my comments actually live anywhere near Dewsbury, and nor, I suspect, do they shop here either. Well, I do, and if they don't like the fact that I put the interests of this town first then that's too bad, because I see that as 100% my job. I promised on being elected that I would repay the trust of local people and I would put them and their families first and I have never forgotten that promise. These Councillors need to understand that the people of Dewsbury don't want favours we just want fairness."
Councillor Paul Kane added: "I am sorry that the outcome wasn't better. But a commitment to come back to Dewsbury if all other circumstances are right is as much as we could ask for at this stage. I did remind Marks and Spencers though of the commitment that the people of Dewsbury had given to them for over ninety years."