Marks and Spencer has announced its new food store in Coleraine will open at the end of January.
The retailer, which currently operates food outlet in the centre of Coleraine, said the new 11,500 sq ft supermarket at Riverside Retail Park will open for business on January 30 2024.
M&S said the existing store at The Diamond will close on January 29, with all employees transferring to the larger outlet.
An additional 30 jobs are also being created.
The retailer, which has 22 stores in Northern Ireland, has merged two units at the Riverside Retail Park, previously occupied by Maplin and Starplan.
Planning approval was granted for the new store last year, despite concerns expressed by Retail NI over the potential impact on Coleraine’s town centre.
Planning consultants representing the retail body had called on the council’s planning committee “to reflect very seriously in relation to the gravity of the decision they are about to take”, citing a 20% vacancy rate in the centre of Coleraine.
The recommendation to approve the planning proposal was originally due to be considered in February 2022, but approval was delayed when the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) became involved.
DfI eventually wrote to the council on October 28 2022 to confirm that it would not be necessary to ‘call in’ the application.
Planning approval was granted three days later.
Lidl has also secured planning approval for a new supermarket at Riverside Retail Park.
Planning permission was granted last month for a new £4.5m store on a largely vacant site at the northern end of the retail park.
Commenting on the move to Riverside, M&S Coleraine store manager Kieran McCauley, who has worked for the company nearly 29 years, said: “We are delighted to be bringing a brand-new M&S shopping experience to Coleraine.
“The store is an exciting investment in the future of M&S in in the area and I can’t wait for our customers to explore all the new features that the store has to offer.”
“I know how much our colleagues are looking forward to launching the new foodhall and serving our customers and the wider local community in our brand-new store.
