A MAJOR retailer has revealed it is closing its Darlington town centre store next month, and opening a new Foodhall the day after.

Marks & Spencer has revealed it will be opening the doors to its newest Foodhall in West Park Darlington on Wednesday, August 22 at 10am.

To coincide with the opening of the new Foodhall, M&S Darlington on Northgate will close on Tuesday, August 21.

M&S have confirmed that all staff have been offered a position at nearby stores, with many of them set to transfer to the new West Park Foodhall, but said it was "too early" to confirm if any staff will choose to leave the company.

Andrew Crooks, head of region for North-East at Marks & Spencer, said: “We have been serving generations of families at our M&S Darlington store since it opened more than 100 years ago and hope to welcome them, along with new customers, to the opening of the new M&S West Park Darlington Foodhall on Wednesday, August 22.

"The Foodhall will provide thousands of M&S food products, including all-time favourites and new ranges, as well as our Collect in Store service bringing new clothing and home collections.”

The store will be open from 8am - 8pm Monday to Saturday and 10am – 4pm on Sunday.

M&S also has stores in Bishop Auckland, Middlesbrough and Teesside Park. Its Stockton store is also due to close next month.