MARKS & Spencer has confirmed it will proceed with plans to develop a new £6 million food store in Banbridge, despite announcing a massive jobs cull last month.
The supermarket chain said it would seek to shed 7,000 staff over a three-month period in response to a “material shift in trade”.
The company said it hopes most of the cuts, equal to around 10 per cent of its workforce, would be made through voluntary redundancy and early retirement.
In June, Co Tyrone firm Gortalowry Developments launched a pre-planning consultation on behalf of M&S on the potential to open a new food hall at the Bridgewater Park in Banbridge.
The retailer already operates an outlet store at the nearby Boulevard, which stocks clothing and home products.
M&S reported in August that its sales in its hard-hit clothing and home arm plunged 29.9 per cent in the eight weeks since shops reopened after the lockdown.
Despite a 39 per cent surge in online sales, store sales fell 48 per cent over the period.
The move in Banbridge is part of a wider shift in resources within the company toward its better performing areas – food and online.
In recent weeks, Gortalowry Developments, owned by Dromore-based businessman Derek Keys, formally submitted a planning application for two new retail units at Bridgewater park.
Subject to planning approval, M&S said it intends to use the 20,000 sq ft unit for a new food hall, with the 11,000 sq ft unit to be used for storage.
The move is expected to create 70 jobs, with another 70 jobs involved in the construction phase.
A spokesperson for M&S said: “Yes, the plans are continuing and we look forward to the outcome from the council.”
Planning permission was secured in 2006 to construct additional retail units at the site, suggesting the retailer should have little difficulty in securing approval for its plans.
