ONE of Cumbria's leading property experts fears Barrow's M&S store will be empty "for a while" once the retailer closes.

Marks & Spencer confirmed earlier this year that its Dalton Road store will close once the Foodhall outlet opens in Ulverston in Spring 2020.

The Barrow store is one of 100 which M&S bosses have said will close by 2022.

Staff from the Barrow store have been offered the opportunity to transfer to the Ulverston branch at the Beehive retail and employment site on the outskirts of Ulverston.

More than 70 jobs will be created with the opening of the Foodhall.

Peill & Co managing director Simon Adams, whose firm specialises in marketing commercial property, said it could be some time before the former Dalton Road M&S store is reoccupied.

"Dalton Road is in need of upgrading and we have seen that happening with the likes of the Townhouse opening," Mr Adams said.

"I think with Marks & Spencer it will be empty for a while.

"We've been marketing the former Poundworld and while we have had a few enquiries but there are quite a few empty units coming on the market.

"There is a large population in Barrow who would be likely to shop at M&S and with moving to Ulverston they will potentially lose those customers."

Gawain Steel, operations manager for the Townhouse's owner Lucidity Group, hopes prospective town centre tenants will be encouraged to invest after seeing improvements carried out on some of Barrow's outdated buildings.

"You do tend to find that retailers and others in the leisure industry are spurred on when they see empty units being reoccupied and upgraded," he said.

"What the town centre needs is for prospective tenants to be given the right incentives to take those opportunities in order to instil confidence and encourage developers to invest in Barrow and improve the offering to consumers."

Colin Garnett from Barrow's Business Improvement District explained that M&S has a vested interest in ensuring the Dalton Road unit is reoccupied once the store closes.

"They have rather a long lease remaining on the store so it's in their interests to do what they can to find a new tenant," he said.

"They won't want to have to continue being responsible for the rents and rates on the building.

"Myself and Simon Craig (M&S store manager) will keep an eye on what happens and try to influence them to get the unit occupied."