Southport retail park welcomes £30m Sainsbury’s store

UBS Global Asset Management, with advice from Savills’ Manchester building project and consultancy team, has developed an 80,000 sq ft supermarket at Meols Cop.

The store is open after redevelopment of the site took a decade, the overall cost of the scheme now exceeding £30m.

Place North West reported on the High Court ruling in 2021 which allowed the supermarket giant to start building more than five years after plans for the scheme were first submitted. 

This came after a judicial review seeking to prevent the development going ahead had been brought by an independent third party.

The scheme has involved the extensive redevelopment of an existing retail park with a new purpose built store and car park.

In addition updated front facades have been added to the retail units occupied by Hobbycraft, Currys and PureGym.

More than 1,000 20m long pre-cast concrete driven piles have been installed under the store and the car park due to poor ground conditions. Highways work has also taken place to create a new signalled entrance into the retail park.

Mark Burns, director, building and project consultancy, Savills, said: “Our retail agency originated the idea to develop a Sainsbury’s supermarket in this location back in 2009, and UBS signed an agreement to lease, subject to planning and vacant possession of a Homebase unit.

“All these years on, it’s fantastic to see the supermarket open for business, but we do need to mention that this scheme came to fruition as a result of the fantastic work carried out by Howard Morgan, who led the Savills team until his untimely death in January 2021.

“A commemorative plaque has been installed outside the store as a mark of respect.”

Hadfield Cawkwell Davidson was the architect for the project.

Phase two of the Meols Cop Retail Park development will begin later this year, which will include a refurbishment of the remaining units, and resurfacing of the car park.