Residents of Newcastle Great Park will finally have its own supermarket with the opening of a new Morrisons store.
Frustrated locals in the suburb have complained about the lack of shops on their mostly-empty high street with most having to travel to Kingston Park to get their amenities. But after more than a decade of waiting for a supermarket, the long overdue Morrisons store will open its doors on Thursday in a major boost for the area.
Representatives from both Morrisons and Persimmon Homes North East, the developers of Great Park, were at the store today, in order to have a look around and to take in the result of what has been years of hard work since the plans were approved in November of 2021.
READ MORE: Newcastle Great Park Academy delayed
This new Morrisons offers Great Park residents a brand new shopping experience right on their doorstep, in the middle of the town centre. This ideal location, as well as bicycle parking spaces on site, will allow for walking and cycling to the store, which will in turn help the environment.
In addition to this, 191 car parking spaces will be available for customers, which include accessible and family spaces as well as electric vehicle charging points.
The store has brought over 150 new jobs to people from the area, and there is hope that the increased footfall will convince other businesses to move into the area.
Stuart Grimes, the managing director of Persimmon Homes North East, said: "People no longer have to travel as they have a supermarket right on their doorstep and with it being in the centre of Great Park, more people will be using the facilities and it will bring a lot more footfall to this area.
"It took some time to get things sorted with this, we were looking for an anchor tenant for a while and then Morrisons came in and we were able to strike a deal. After this, its the planning and building stage which takes a while too.
"From our perspective we are delighted to get a Morrisons here in Great Park. It adds to the attractiveness of the area and to the experience of the people already based here. We felt like we had an obligation to people to bring them a supermarket like this so its great that we were able to do so."
The new store manager, Ian Brocklehurst, added: "I am delighted to be starting up the new store in Great Park. When the regional manager gave me the call I knew that it was a great opportunity for me personally, and I wanted to bring the first supermarket to this area.
"This new store will bring a lot more footfall to the centre of Great Park, and it has been clear to see just how big of a demand and calling out that there has been for a supermarket for a few years now, so it is very rewarding to be able to bring this to the people of Newcastle Great Park."
READ NEXT:
