Leading supermarket Asda has revealed its ambitions to open its first store within Durham City through working with North East employer the Banks Group at the prestigious Mount Oswald development.
Asda is looking to build a 3,000 sq ft Asda Express convenience store on The Drive on the northern side of the Mount Oswald site, opposite South College and close to the Howlands Park & Ride.
A planning application has been submitted by Banks Property to Durham County Council, with a view to it coming before the Council’s planning committee in the coming months.
If it is approved, construction could begin later in the year, with the store expected to create up to 17 new jobs.
The planning application also includes purpose-built student accommodation above the retail space, which has been designed by Gradon Architecture.
This includes a mixture of 92 studio apartments and shared flats that are designed for mature students and come with their own dedicated parking spaces.
More information about other aspects of the development of this part of the Mount Oswald site is expected to follow in the coming months.
Asda’s ongoing expansion into the fast-growing £40bn convenience and £60bn food to go market remains a key pillar of the retailer’s strategy.
Asda Express stores stock up to 3,000 branded and own-label products to suit a broad range of customer needs including ‘top up’ shops for essential items such as milk and bread, grabbing lunch on the go or cooking dinner from scratch.
Helen Cullen, Acquisition Manager for Asda, said: “We’re always looking at new opportunities to serve local communities, so we’re delighted to be working with the Banks Group to bring an Asda Express convenience store to Durham City.
“This is an exciting development for us to be a part of and we look forward to catering for a broad range of customer needs, whether that’s popping in for a pint of milk, grabbing a spot of lunch on the go or buying the fresh ingredients to cook dinner from scratch.
“We’re confident that residents will enjoy the convenience of having Asda’s quality and low prices on their doorstop for years to come.”
The Banks Group has been progressing its comprehensive development proposals for Mount Oswald since they were first approved by Durham County Council over a decade ago.
It was designed by Banks in support of the County Council’s vision of Durham City acting as a driver of economic growth in the county, and now includes around 290 completed properties that have been built by David Wilson Homes and Bellway Homes.
The Banks Group’s dedicated regional housebuilding company, Banks Homes, is currently building nine luxury homes in the centre of the Mount Oswald site which will comprise Durham City’s most exclusive residential development, Symeon Court.
John Ruddick, principal development manager at Banks Property, adds: “We’ve always envisaged this part of the Mount Oswald site as being perfect for retail use and we had a lot of interest in it from many of the UK’s best-known retailers.
“Asda showed huge enthusiasm for opening their first Durham City store at the Mount Oswald site and we’re extremely pleased to be working with such a well-known and respected brand.
“The new store would be ideally located for residents living in and around the area, as well as people passing through it, and we strongly believe that this represents the best option for providing the retail element of the Mount Oswald site that we’d always promised to deliver.”
More than £4.2million will have been allocated by Banks to pay for substantial improvements for the local community by the time of the overall development’s completion.
These include improvements to local highways, contributions to the construction of a new community building at Lowes Barns and the provision of additional classrooms at two local schools, St Oswald’s Church of England and Durham St Margaret’s Primary.
Award-winning GRADONARCHITECTURE is the Lead Designer and Architect on the new project.
Managing Director Graham McDarby said: “We are proud to be playing a key role on the Mount Oswald site. Currently working with Banks on several projects, this project showcases our architecture and experience in this sector and demonstrates our commitment to the region and our North East heritage, in addition to the range of diverse overseas projects we are currently working on.
“This plot responds positively to the adopted Mount Oswald Durham Masterplan and provides a strong, high-quality gateway to the overall development, despite challenging topographical and ecological factors.
“With over 15 years of industry experience in a range of sectors, the last few years have proved challenging for many businesses, including our own. This project has been in the making for over three years and it is now extremely satisfying to see it coming to fruition, testament to the resilience of our own business and that of Banks. We now look forward to seeing the project become reality on site.”