Country Durham developer submits plans for retail-led site

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Jan 4, 2023

Shoppers on the outskirts of Peterlee, County Durham, could have a major new retail development to visit before next Christmas with Yorkshire based developer Almscliffe-Dhesi Group (ADG) having submitted plans to the council for a completely new retail-led centre.

The site off Passfield Way is currently a derelict former car dealership and the company said potential tenants already committed include Sainsbury’s and Tanning Shop. The Sainsbury’s link is key as it opens up access to one of the UK’s biggest fashion brands — Sainsbury’s own Tu clothing label — as well as to the Argos operation that it owns. 

The development will cover over 13,000 sq ft and is a further sign of the buoyancy in the retail park sector.

The company said that if approved, the development will open within the year and that the pre-application consultation got a good response with over 80% of people being in favour.

The developers are also promising that the site will create at least 100 sustainable jobs.

While much retail development at the moment is focused on the big, headline-grabbing shopping malls, there's still plenty of development going on at smaller retail sites. And these are proving increasingly important for online shoppers, as well as those shopping physically. Local convenience retail has become a major delivery option for fashion and beauty shoppers, even if the shops themselves don't have a huge selection of such products on their shelves.