Sainsbury's and Booths to open superstores
in Penrith, within a week of each other
By Matthew Legg, Business editor, News & Star, Wednesday 5th October 2011
Penrith is set for an £80 million retail boom which could turn it into a Cumbrian mecca for shoppers.
Supermarket giants Sainsbury’s and Booths are gearing up to open new stores in the town next month, creating 480 new jobs.
The Sainsbury’s store will form part of the New Squares development designed to transform the Penrith economy.
The investment was intended to reverse a trend which had seen increasing numbers of Penrith shoppers deserting the town for Carlisle and Kendal – but some community leaders say they are delighted to see Penrith get city-style amenities without spoiling the pleasant Eden Valley environment that makes it so attractive to tourists.
The new Sainsbury’s store will open on November 9 and will form part of the £77m New Squares scheme.
The project is well ahead of schedule, having previously been expected to open in February next year. New Squares itself has been dogged with controversy, having stalled in October 2008 when a bank withdrew funding. Sainsbury’s then offered to restart the project, in exchange for being allowed to build a bigger store, but the district council rejected the offer.
The development was saved in 2010 when Sainsbury’s exercised its legal right to complete the original scheme, which incorporates the supermarket, car park, shops, restaurants, cafes and bars, plus 199 houses and flats.
Penrith’s new Booths supermarket will open on November 15.
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in Penrith, within a week of each other
By Matthew Legg, Business editor, News & Star, Wednesday 5th October 2011
Penrith is set for an £80 million retail boom which could turn it into a Cumbrian mecca for shoppers.
Supermarket giants Sainsbury’s and Booths are gearing up to open new stores in the town next month, creating 480 new jobs.
The Sainsbury’s store will form part of the New Squares development designed to transform the Penrith economy.
The investment was intended to reverse a trend which had seen increasing numbers of Penrith shoppers deserting the town for Carlisle and Kendal – but some community leaders say they are delighted to see Penrith get city-style amenities without spoiling the pleasant Eden Valley environment that makes it so attractive to tourists.
The new Sainsbury’s store will open on November 9 and will form part of the £77m New Squares scheme.
The project is well ahead of schedule, having previously been expected to open in February next year. New Squares itself has been dogged with controversy, having stalled in October 2008 when a bank withdrew funding. Sainsbury’s then offered to restart the project, in exchange for being allowed to build a bigger store, but the district council rejected the offer.
The development was saved in 2010 when Sainsbury’s exercised its legal right to complete the original scheme, which incorporates the supermarket, car park, shops, restaurants, cafes and bars, plus 199 houses and flats.
Penrith’s new Booths supermarket will open on November 15.
Read More - Ballet star shows off charity portraits
.