N Ireland retailers welcome Tesco’s withdrawal of Omagh hypermarket plans

The Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association (NIIRTA) has welcomed the decision by Tesco to withdraw its out-of-town hypermarket application from the Opportunity Omagh project.

This withdrawal is “good news” for Omagh town and offers protection for local jobs and shops, said NIIRTA

Glyn Roberts, NIIRTA’s chief executive, said: “If this out-of-town hypermarket had been build it would have resulted in a serious loss of jobs, retailers and footfall from Omagh town centre.

“NIIRTA and local traders rigorously opposed this aspect of the Opportunity Omagh application which was given permission by previous environment minister Poots.

“It remains to be seen whether they will now move to the town centre site which has now been successful in gaining planning permission in an application from Corbo.

“In the light of this decision we would call upon Tesco to confirm if they are proceeding with a similar out-of-town hypermarket in Banbridge. Indeed, is this the start of a wider trend away from large out of town hypermarkets generally?

“The recent Lisney shop vacancy figures show the growing number of shop vacancies in every town and city in Northern Ireland and we would encourage all of the UK multiple supermarkets to play their role in locating stores in our town centres where they will contribute to the overall retail offer and boost footfall.”

Source: NIIRTA