November 8 2021

Marks & Spencer has partnered with Westquarter Developments for a major retail development in the heart of Largs to meet evolving customer requirements.

The town centre build would sweep aside a conglomeration of workshops and offices to free up a 0.35-hectare site for a 9,000sq/ft food store with an extended product range and plentiful car parking in an accessible location.

Fronting 123-125 Main Street at its southern edge the project seeks to augment rather than supplant existing retail provision in the seaside town with the new supermarket set back behind a new wall and expansive car park offering a minimum of 47 spaces.

In a design statement, G1 Architects wrote: "Building materials, articulation and features with a mixture of glazed tile, smooth cladding and glazing divisions all working to reduce the perception of the overall scale.

"Simple clean lines and a strong entrance feature set the tone for this proposal, ensuring, through architectural hierarchy, effective orientation from the enhanced public realm areas to the main access."

A separate service yard will be provided on-site with access provided via a new junction off Main Street.

5 Comments

#1 Posted by Islands of sanity on 8 Nov 2021 at 12:55 PM

Building should be at front of the site to repair the townscape, not compound the damage done previously. This also reaffirms importance to pedestrian users.

#2 Posted by Whispering Andy on 8 Nov 2021 at 14:15 PM

Whisper it......but I completely agree #1

#3 Posted by modernish on 8 Nov 2021 at 15:11 PM

When practically the first thing you say in the design statement is you've tried to hide the building, sorry, 'reduce the perception of the overall scale'...you know you've done something very wrong.
It's the architectural equivalent of 'a big boy did it and ran away!'

#4 Posted by Finlay George McCallum on 11 Nov 2021 at 10:46 AM

its an urban area not out of town sprawl !

#5 Posted by Elmer J Fudd on 17 Nov 2021 at 13:28 PM

This is a bad idea. Traffic already backs up past the entrance to Pearsons (in both directions during the summer) and this will definitely make matters worse. Why not have a more street fronted building with limited parking / pick up points?

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