THE leader of Barnsley Council says they have been encouraging estate agents to fill up the former Marks and Spencer unit in the town centre after the retailer confirmed its lease had finally ended.

The Queen Street building has been standing empty for almost two years since the chain moved out, ending a near 90-year presence in the town centre.

The high street favourite opened in Barnsley 1937 but said that changing shopping habits and increasing cost pressures had forced its closure.

It subsequently opened a food unit at Peel Retail Park, on Harborough Hill Road but no-one has yet moved into the town centre store.

The Chronicle understands there is now some interest in taking on the site that is still regarded as one of the prime retail spots in the tiown centre.

M and S said last year that they were working with the landlord regarding the future of the site but there had been no progress until the unit was placed on Right Move recently for lease, with a rateable value of £196,000.

Rateable values are the amount of rent a property could have been let for on a set valuation date.

M and S told the Chronicle this week that their lease on the building had now ended but would not disclose anything further.

Sir Steve Houghton told the Chronicle that since the closure the council had been working hard to ensure the unit is filled but it is not their decision and instead the landlord’s.

He said: “It’s a privately-owned building with a private landlord so obviously the building is not in our control.

“My understanding is that when Marks and Spencer’s left, they were still paying the lease.

“Because they were still paying the lease on the empty property there wasn’t a lot of incentive for the owners to move it on because they were still getting income.

“We’ve been encouraging estate agents and encouraging the owners to try and get it occupied.

“No one wants to see any buildings in and around any town centre, let alone ours, that have been empty for so long.

“We’ve done our best but in the end it’s not in our control.

“If there’s some interest we would welcome that because the sooner it gets filled the better.”

Sir Steve added that the overall aim is to fill the town centre and admits his frustration regarding the situation.

He said: “It’s a very large retail unit and we want to see that away, preferably to other retailers and to add to the offer in the town centre.

“But there are other alternatives because you don’t want empty buildings.

“You’re always going to get turnover, businesses are always going to come and go that’s just the way the world works. But it’s been there for quite a while now and as I’ve said we’ve done our bit to encourage the owners and estate agencies. But it’s not in our control.

“I suspect now the M and S lease has ran out and there’s no income coming in, then there’ll be a bigger push to the owners to get it away.”

Quarter one statistics for 2025/26 show that the vacancy rate for the town centre is just ten per cent the lowest in years but Sir Steve said that although the town centre is thriving, they will not rest on their laurels.

He added: “The Marks and Spencer building is really visible and important in the town centre and we need to get it into good use but the town centre’s never done.

“What we can’t do is rest on our laurels.

“We’ve got the Glass Works, Health on the High Street, the Alhambra, the Base71 youth zone and it is great and I’m so proud of what we’ve managed to achieve but you can’t stand still.

“You’ve got to be looking for the next idea, the next development, the next trend in retail and the town centres.

“If we stand still other towns will catch us up and overtake us so we’re constantly looking.

“We’re on this year, we think, for ten million visitors, which is up there with places like York.”