The site
The site is in a key town centre location within the main pedestrian shopping area of South Street, Dorchester.
The site is occupied by the former Marks & Spencer store, which closed down in 2020. The ground floor area of the store is in temporary use by a digital arts charity for training and exhibitions.
The site is accessible to pedestrians and for deliveries, with an existing delivery bay at the rear of the site on Trinity Street.
An existing narrow public footpath along the northern boundary of the site provides a pedestrian link between Trinity Street and South Street.
The site sits between two roads:
- Trinity Street (to the west), along which runs the bus service.
- South Street (to the east), which is part of the pedestrianised central shopping area.
The site itself is located less than a minute's walk away from the nearest bus stop and an approximate 10-minute walk to Dorchester South train station.
For visitors travelling by car, there is the large Fairfield long-stay car park on Weymouth Avenue, a 6-minute walk from the site, and the Top O’ Town car park (7-minute walk) as well as the smaller Durngate Street car park (4-minute walk), as well as various short-stay car parks nearby.
The demolition and replacement of the current semi-derelict building creates the opportunity to revive the site and to further strengthen the town’s tourism offer, providing more choice to visitors and bringing a positive impact socially, aesthetically and economically to Dorchester.