Work Starts On £30m Supermarket Project

19 August 2013, 06:44

Demolition work is starting on the old East Street Shopping Centre in Southampton city centre.

It'll be turned into a Morrisons supermarket with a car park above. It'll create 400 jobs and is due to be finished by next summer.

The East Street Shopping Centre was originally built during the 1970s.

A pedestrian link between St Mary's and the city centre will also be recreated. Two levels of parking above the new store will also provide approximately 280 spaces for both food store shoppers and visitors to the city centre.

The work will mean some disruption as certain roads nearby are shut. A Southampton City Council statement said:

"The effect of the Order will be to close:

(a) Lime Street (northern footway) from Lime Street's western kerbline with Kings Street to 30m east from Lime Street's western kerbline with Kings Street.

(b) St Georges Street (eastern footway) from its junction with Houndwell Place southern footway for its entirety.

(c) St Georges Street from its extended boundary line between numbers 46 & 51 East Street to 12m east to its boundary line with Capital House.

(d) St Georges Street from its most southern closed end 5m west of its boundary with Capital House to 10m north from its southern closed end 5m west of its boundary with Capital House.

The Order comes into force on 19 August 2013 and it is anticipated that the work will take 18 months to complete. The Order will therefore cease to have effect on 19 February 2015 or on completion of the works, whichever is later."

John De Stefano, Chairman of Arcadian Estates, a subsidiary of London & Henley Property Group, said:

"As a long-term investor in Southampton I am pleased that our proposed investment in this redevelopment can now go ahead.

"Not only will it deliver the new Morrisons store and provide hundreds of new jobs, it will also restore the link with St Mary's, increase the footfall in East Street and help to stimulate further regeneration and investment in this area of the city centre."

David Lewis, director of Centros, added:

"This positive decision means that our programme to open the new Morrisons store by the end of 2014 remains on track.

"Over the next few months we will be working through the various planning conditions with both council officers and key local stakeholders with the aim of starting work on site next summer."

Morrisons has already signed an agreement to take a lease of the new store. Details of the development can be found on www.eaststreet.info