Work is set to begin on the new Sainsbury's that will be built on Meols Cop Retail Park in Southport.
The work has been delayed for a number of years after several legal challenges against the proposals but Sefton Council has now confirmed that the work will begin in "coming weeks". The former Homebase site has been left empty for many years and it is anticipated that the demolition work to remove the empty retail unit that fills a large part of the retail park will begin next month.
The site on Meols Cop retail park in Southport was first earmarked for the new supermarket store in 2015 but has been met with pushbacks since then. After being referred to the Secretary of State and a High Court ruling, the former Homebase site is now finally set to become a new Sainsbury's store and petrol station, just yards from an Aldi, Home Bargains and Tesco Extra.
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The approval has come with non-negotiable conditions, with the main condition being that Sainsbury's are not permitted to close their town centre store located on St. George's Place within five years of their Meols Cop store opening. In 2017, Sainsbury’s received planning permission to demolish the former Homebase site at Meols Cop Retail Park and build a 60,000 sqft store and petrol station.
The application was highly contentious and only approved following a five-day public inquiry, called for by former Southport MP and now councillor John Pugh in 2015. Sefton Council has now confirmed to the Liverpool Echo that following the two legal challenges to this particular planning application has now ended and demolition work will begin.
