A Dover resident has written to Marks & Spencer’s head office about its move from Biggin Street to the St James development zone.

Lorraine Sencicle, of Danes Court, wrote to the company expressing her unhappiness that the store would be upping sticks from the high street.

Mrs Sencicle said: “Like many in our town, I was dismayed to read that you will be closing the Dover Marks and Spencer store in Dover and replacing it with food outlet.

“Dover and the rest of the country needs M&S to show that you need us and listen to what we have to say.” - Lorraine Sencicle

“Dover and the rest of the country needs M&S to show that you need us and listen to what we have to say.”

Dated on March 31, the reply, written by Michael Probert, from the executive office at M&S, said: “I am sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the recent announcement for our new store plans.

“We came to a point in the Biggin Street store’s lease where we needed to make a decision whether to extend it or not.

“Running and modernising a small, food and general merchandise store in the town centre was not commercially viable so, after careful consideration, we made the decision to not renew our lease, and relocate to this exciting new development as a Simply Food store.”

Once moved, the store will not stock its clothing range.

Instead, customers will need to order online and collect in-store.

Mrs Sencicle, in her letter, showed her concerns about this move.

She said: “I am told that the reason M&S are opting for food only is that people prefer to shop for clothes online these days. This is because we are forced to and I, for one, prefer to see and try on before I buy.”

To which she received a reply from Mr Probert: “I understand your concerns about online shopping.

“We’ve recently made a number of changes to our website to make it easier and more enjoyable to shop with us. We’ve added some new features to help our customers find and order items they want.”

Marks & Spencer’s Simply Food will join Cineworld as anchor tenants in the St James development, scheduled for completion in 2016.