Sainsbury’s is set to invest in excess of £50M in two new stores in Carrickfergus and Derry. The announcement will see the purchase of an existing Co-operative store in Carrickfergus and subject to planning permission, a second Sainsbury’s store in Derry at Crescent Link in the Waterside area of the City.
While exact numbers are not yet finalised there are plans in place to create a significant number of new jobs in Londonderry. There will also be an opportunity for all employees at the existing Co-Op in Carrick to stay on as Sainsbury’s colleagues, with the possibility of additional job creation at this site also.
Chris Templeman, head of property development at Sainsbury’s said, “We are delighted to announce further investment by Sainsbury’s in Northern Ireland. We are due to open our eleventh store in West Belfast towards the end of the summer and Carrickfergus will be the twelfth. The new flagship store in Derry will follow when planning permission has been agreed. It will be located at Crescent Link and is an integral part of a strategic mixed use development by Orana Group subsidiary GML (NI) Limited.
“All our existing Northern Ireland stores are trading well despite the difficult economic climate. We will continue to deliver on our commitment to local sourcing at these new stores which means there will be further opportunities for local suppliers. Our regional buying team currently source in excess of £250 million worth of local produce every year and that is set to grow.”
David Davidson, regional operation manager for Northern Ireland said, “This acquisition in Carrickfergus and the plans for the new Derry store help to show Sainsbury’s ongoing commitment to Northern Ireland. We are looking forward to offering the people of Carrick and the surrounding area an exciting new Sainsbury’s with excellent choice and value while shoppers in Derry will have another store in Waterside for added convenience.”
Sainsbury’s is also awaiting the outcome of a planning decision on a proposed store at Balloo in Bangor, Co. Down which would bring the total number of stores to fourteen and make Sainsbury’s one of the largest employers in Northern Ireland.
Orana Group’s chairman John Farmer added “Our intention at Crescent Link is to provide a mixed use development offering diverse employment opportunity. This approach is in line with emerging planning policy which seeks to create balanced and sustainable development, at the same time providing tangible community benefit. Opportunity Omagh, another GML development which has won the backing of Omagh District Council is being promoted along similar lines”.
