With just nine weeks to go until the anticipated opening of a new Marks & Spencer store in Stevenage, the finishing touches are being made to the building's exterior, and the deadline for submitting job applications is next week.

The store on the Roaring Meg Retail Park will cover nearly 10,000 square metres across two floors and include a foodhall and cafe.

It replaces Debenhams and will create up to 150 jobs. Various customer assistant roles and managerial positions are advertised on the M&S website, with application closing dates of January 19 and 20.

M&S has previously publicised an anticipated store opening date of March 16. A spokesman said: “We are looking forward to opening our new M&S store in Stevenage this spring and will keep the community updated as works on the site continue to progress.”

M&S left Stevenage in 2015, saying the town centre store in Queensway was no longer commercially viable.