A MAJOR reshuffle of Worcester's High Street could see the creation of a new Marks & Spencer superstore.

The High Street favourite is considering plans to merge its two current city stores into one large shop selling women's, men's and children's fashions, a food department and larger home furnishings department.

M&S owns two stores in Worcester's High Street, separated by Woolworths. The merger plan will require its second store - housing menswear, children's clothes and the cafe - to swap places with Woolworths.

The move has been welcomed by the city's Chamber of Commerce.

Both stores are stalwarts of Worcester High Street - M&S recently celebrated 100 years of trading in the Faithful City and Woolworths is close to the milestone, too, having been in the city for 91 years.

It is believed the proposed move could increase the trading space available to M&S by about 10 per cent.

Rumours of the plan have been circulating the city for some time, but both M&S and Woolworths have refused to confirm them until now.

A spokesman for Marks & Spencer said: "We are considering all options for Worcester but remain fully committed to the city centre store.

"We do have two stores in Worcester and we are in the middle of legal negotiations to purchase the Woolworths store. This would then relocate to the satellite store."

Simon Clarke, Marks & Spencer's foods manager, stressed nothing had yet been signed, but said he hoped the paperwork would be completed in the next year.

"It is a huge development," he said.

"It's at the stage for planning. We will have to free up our second site first for Woolworths and once they have moved over, then we can move into it."

A spokesman for Woolworths said: "Woolworths can confirm it is in discussions with Marks & Spencer about the potential swap of their Worcester stores. These discussions are confidential and on-going."

Marks & Spencer is known to be a big city centre draw, attracting shoppers from across the region.

Christopher Harvey, of the local Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the move.

He said: "It does make a lot of sense for Marks & Spencer to have just one store, and it presumably will be good for Woolworths as it would give them a chance to have a new revitalised store. I feel this will be a good move for the companies, Worcester and the shoppers."

Alan Coleman, head of development control in the city's planning department, said it had not received any plans from the companies.

l Plans are also in place for a new 3,000 square metres (33,000 square feet) Marks & Spencer store in the former Focus unit, Roman Way Retail Park, Malvern, in the next year. It will sell clothing, and contain a food hall, bakery and café. The firm says it will create a large number of new jobs.

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Marks and Woolies: Part of shopping historyWoolworths* Woolworths was the brainchild of New York man Frank Woolworth, who started his retail career in 1873 as a sales assistant.* At the time goods did not have fixed prices and he saw an opportunity to fill a store with five cent merchandise, and in 1879 opened his first shop in America.* The first British Woolworths opened in Liverpool in 1909.* Worcester's store opened on March 11, 1916. The company extended its premises in 1935 and again in 1960.* It is currently trading in a space of 20,850 sq ft (6,355 sq metres).Marks & Spencer* In 1884 Michael Marks, a Russian born Polish refugee opened a stall in a Leeds market.* He formed a partnership with Tom Spencer and in 1901 a new warehouse and head office was opened in Manchester, and just three years later a premises for a shop at the Cross Arcade in Leeds was opened.* The main Worcester Marks & Spencer store (women's wear and food) is this year celebrating its centenary year.* The stores together currently have a trading space of 40,000 sq feet (12,192 sq metres).