£21m Sainsbury’s investment will create 200 new jobs and boost Derry economy by £4.6m

The retail giant wants to revamp the former Homebase unit at the Crescent Link Retail Park.

The plans have taken another step towards realisation after an application for development was submitted with Derry City & Strabane District Council.

This follows a number of pre-application public consultations on the new food store since the start of this year.

Sainsbury’s says it intends investing £21m in the Waterside as it carries out the new development.

An economic impact assessment completed in support of the application shows the new store will provide significant employment opportunities at a range of levels, including at management and in shop-floor positions.

"The proposed development will support approximately 200 on-site new jobs in total. As these jobs will be flexible depending on the number of hours worked, the new employment opportunities will be a mix of full-time and part-time roles, therefore equating to approximately 130 full-time equivalent (FTE) on-site jobs.

"Of the 130 FTE on-site jobs, a majority of 120 are expected to come from within the local area of Derry City and Strabane based on trends that Sainsbury’s have seen with other stores.

"The site of the proposed development is formerly occupied by a Homebase store, which permanently ceased operations in February 2025, therefore all jobs previously supported by Homebase have been lost,” according to the authors of the assessment, WSP.

Ultimately the new Sainsbury’s will support up to 145 FTE net additional permanent jobs, 100 of which could be taken up by residents in Derry City and Strabane, and millions of pounds will be generated for the local economy if the development goes ahead, WSP state.

“The proposed development could generate approximately £7.3 million annually in Gross Value Added (GVA), a measure of economic productivity, of which approximately £4.6 million GVA, annually, could support the local economy of Derry City and Strabane,” the assessment adds.

On the basis of 60 per cent of employees spending an average of £6 a day (across 232 days) in local retail and leisure businesses, the assessment estimates that the new store will generate approximately £108,500 in annual additional expenditure for local businesses in Derry City and Strabane.

Derry and Strabane’s rates base will also receive a welcome fillip if the supermarket goes ahead.

"For the purposes of this assessment, WSP has estimated that the Non-Domestic Rates bill for the Proposed Development could be in the region of approximately £534,000 and £660,000, therefore reflecting a net uplift of approximately £4,000 to £130,000 per annum compared to previous on-site uses. Derry City and Strabane Council would retain 50 per cent of Non-Domestic Rates generated by the Proposed Development,” the assessment says.

During the construction phase – estimated at around six months – the building industry and its wider supply chains is also expected to be boosted by approximately £15.2 in GVA.

A design and access statement prepared by CHQ Architects Ltd. on behalf of Sainsbury’s explains that the existing ground and mezzanine floor of the Homebase unit will remain and be reused.

However, the overall floor space will be reduced to facilitate a new Argos ‘store in store’ warehouse.

The existing garden centre and canopy, will be removed and converted to provide additional customer car parking.

The final salesfloor space will cover 4,444 square metres (47,834 square feet), in accordance with the supermarket’s ‘45K’ commitment.

An analysis of recent community consultations conducted by Cavendish highlights that traffic issues dominated responses from local residents and citizens generally.

However, a detailed transport assessment carried out by Atkins Réalis concludes that the proposed development will result only in a ‘slight increase in vehicle trips to the site’.

The engineering firm concludes that the internal car park layout has been ‘comprehensively reviewed and redesigned to improve traffic progression and remove known conflict points’ and that car parking is sufficient to facilitate the redevelopment proposals.

"The junction upgrades to the Summer Meadows Manor/Retail Park Roundabout, and the internal layout upgrades will ensure that the proposals have been developed to minimise the impact on road safety, both internal to the redevelopment site as well as on the local highway network,” it adds.

WSP, in a planning and retail statement, acknowledges the concerns around traffic.

"Local residents and businesses were generally supportive of the proposal, but a key issue raised related to addressing the impact of existing traffic at the Retail Park. This application will improve matters by including improvements to the circulation and accesses,” they state.