West Belfast shoppers will return to Lidl’s Stewartstown Road store in West Belfast from 8am on Thursday 5^th December, following a temporary closure of the store in August to facilitate works to significantly redevelop the site and expand and refurbish the store, bringing it in line with the retailer’s modern and sustainably focused ‘concept’ design.

Meanwhile, residents of Carryduff will enjoy access to the town’s first Lidl Northern Ireland store – the retailer’s 43^rd store in the region – when it opens at 8am on Thursday 12^th December at Carryduff Shopping Centre.

The opening marks the revitalisation of the formerly derelict site and paves the way for further retail development for the area, with four units and a drive-thru restaurant or coffee shop earmarked for future investment.

Award-winning local comedian, Paddy Raff and will open and welcome shoppers back to the West Belfast store, while Lord Mayor of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council Councillor Kurtis Dickson will join Great British Menu chef and Carryduff local, Gemma Austin to cut the ribbon on the retailer’s newest store on the outskirts of South Belfast.

The opening of the two new Greater Belfast stores sees the addition of 65 permanent new jobs, having already supported 220 jobs during the construction and development phase.

With sustainability at its core, the two new Lidl Northern Ireland stores will incorporate LED lighting, heat pumps and PV solar panels reducing carbon emissions and will include an onsite pollinator garden encouraging biodiversity.

Across both stores, shoppers can enjoy a premium shopping experience with a spacious shop floor with wide aisles, long tills, restrooms and baby-changing facilities as well as an in-store bakery and redeveloped parking and landscaping.

Following a major transformational project and investment of £2.5 million earlier this year to increase shelf space, shoppers will be able to avail of Lidl Northern Ireland’s expanded product offering across its everyday range, enabling shoppers to ‘Go Full Lidl.’

Ivan Ryan, Lidl Northern Ireland Regional Managing Director said: “As part of Lidl Northern Ireland’s 25^th anniversary celebrations earlier this year, I was pleased to confirm a fresh £150 million investment into expanding and upgrading our store network across the region and it’s great to see two significant projects realised before the end of this milestone year.

“Not only that, but we’re delighted to be able to open both these highly anticipated stores in time for the festive season so local shoppers can avail of our quality products at market leading value this Christmas.

“Having served the Stewartstown community for over two decades, I’m thrilled to open the doors to a modern and spacious new store for our valued customers in the area to enjoy an enhanced shopping experience in-store. I’m also grateful for the support that has been shown to us by the local community and elected representatives.

“It’s also a huge milestone in our property expansion plans to cut the ribbon on our brand-new Carryduff store which takes our store count to 43 in the region. This project has also been warmly welcomed by residents, businesses and stakeholders alike and will be transformative for what was once a major retail offering in the heart of the community – and will be again this Christmas.

“Welcoming an additional 65 employees to our store team this month and creating local employment has been one of the most rewarding parts of this project. I know the teams are excited to welcome both new shoppers and loyal customers to experience the new stores so I would advise shoppers to get down early and avail of our opening day offers.”

The opening of the two stores follows the publication of Lidl Northern Ireland’s latest Supplier and Business Partner Impact Report, which revealed that the retailer procured more than half-a-billion pounds (£530 million) from local suppliers and business partners across Northern Ireland last year.

The post Lidl NI announces pre-Christmas opening dates for two new stores in Greater Belfast first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Lidl Northern Ireland, the region’s fastest-growing supermarket retailer, received planning approval last year from Belfast City Council following an extensive public consultation to replace the existing store and add more space as part of a new, bright and modern design that promotes sustainability and an enhanced customer shopping experience.

The existing store will remain open to customers as initial building works progress to extend to the rear of the site. The final phase of works will see the store temporarily close in early August to facilitate the demolition and rebuild of the new, state-of-the-art store. Local shoppers will be warmly accommodated at the nearby Lidl Andersonstown Road store during the temporary closure, with customers notified in advance.

This major local investment will add 20 new jobs to Lidl Northern Ireland’s established local team of 20 in West Belfast when it opens later this year, with over 100 construction jobs supported during the new build phase.

MODERN SHOPPING EXPERIENCE

Welcoming the start of construction work at Stewartstown Road, Lidl Northern Ireland’s Regional Managing Director Ivan Ryan said: “Our Stewartstown Road store was one of the first to open in the region so it’s only fitting that, in our milestone 25^th anniversary year, we’re progressing construction of a modern new store for our valued local customers.”

Located next to a busy retail complex and serving a thriving community, the store’s transformation will positively impact the area, with new landscaped pathways providing improved accessibility to the store as well as a modern shopping experience that brings real choice and value to shoppers every day.

“As we break ground on the new store, we are working closely with our contractor to carefully plan construction to best meet the needs of the local community, ensuring that the existing Stewartstown Road store can remain open for as long as possible as works progress,” added Ivan Ryan.

“This is a highly anticipated project and we have liaised extensively with local representatives and the wider community to realise this significant investment. When completed, the new Stewartstown Road store will represent an outstanding addition to the local area, and we look forward to unveiling the new-look store later this year.”

SUSTAINABLE STORE

The new store will include a larger sales area of 1670 sq. m with 150 parking spaces including six dedicated accessible bays and six parent and child bays. In line with Lidl Northern Ireland’s newest stores, Stewartstown Road will also feature an in-house bakery, wider aisles and longer, more spacious checkout areas, customer bathroom and employee welfare facilities.

When opened, the Stewartstown store will also be one of the most sustainable in the region, with LED lighting, heat pumps and PV solar panels reducing carbon emissions and will include an onsite pollinator garden encouraging biodiversity.

Committed to the area, Lidl Northern Ireland has for many years made significant investments in a variety of community initiatives and in facilities designed to further participation in sport, promoting health and wellbeing for people of all ages.

This latest construction start marks an expansion milestone for Lidl Northern Ireland in the Greater Belfast area. In February, it started work on its first store in South Belfast at Boucher Road, adding to its existing Belfast city-wide network which includes Castlereagh Road, Crumlin Road, Holywood Exchange and Connswater. It also has stores on Shore Road and in Dundonald.

The post Work starts on new Lidl Northern Ireland store in West Belfast first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.