City Fields: Aldi store building to start but 'no update' on M&S foodhall plans

Aldi has confirmed it will start construction work at the City Fields site later this year with the new store set to create up to 40 new jobs when it opens next year.

In January Marks & Spencer revealed plans to leave its store in Wakefield city centre and open a new food hall at City Fields.

Last week Marks and Spencer said it had "no update to share" when the Express asked how plans were progressing for the new City Fields store.

And there is no update on previously proposed nursery facilities and medical services at the stalled City Fields district centre site.

Coun Andrew Wakefield, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Housing, Skills and Business Growth, said: "Residents have been waiting a long time for new facilities at City Fields.

"It’s encouraging to finally see progress being made on the district centre. We welcome Aldi’s update – this is a global brand showing confidence in our area as a place to invest, create jobs, and do business.

"We look forward to further announcements about when work on bringing more tenants on the site will begin.”

The Express reported in September 2025 that construction work looked set to resume on the long awaited City Fields district centre to deliver shops, medical services and leisure facilities.

Residents in Wakefield’s City Fields were given assurances more than six years ago that a new district centre would be built.

Planning permission was granted in February 2020 for the development of a 110,000sq ft site off Neil Fox Way.

In April 2022, De Veer Estates announced that work had begun to transform the land but little progress on construction of the new business premises has been made.

Work looked set to resume in September 2024 after local authority planners gave the go-ahead for a previously approved planning application to be amended and updated.

The application, by Cityfields (Wakefield) Limited, sought permission for “the construction of a mixed-use district centre with associated access, car parking, landscaping and infrastructure work.”

Granting permission continued to allow the site to be used for retail premises, food outlets, medical services, nursery facilities, offices, a pub, restaurant and a drive-thru coffee unit.

A document submitted by the company said at the time: “Planning permission for the District Centre was originally granted in February 2020 and development commenced in May 2022, but was quickly aborted when the contractor went into administration."