Leading South Wales construction company Jehu Project Services is set to provide two new retail outlets. The decision to build the new stores in both Barry and Bridgend has been hailed as a bid to preserve the future of the small towns in Wales.
Work is already underway on a two store retail unit in Bridgend worth £2.8m. Home furnishing retailer Dunelm Mill will open a 2,800 square metre store in the Waterton Cross unit with another retailer still to be announced for the second 2,000 square metre store. Jehu is also providing a new entrance to the Waterton Cross site as well as car parking.
Meanwhile, the Jehu team has also started work on a new £600,000 Tesco Express on Holton Road, in Barry which will create between 20 and 30 local jobs. The start of work on the new unit comes a matter of weeks after the Woolworths store on the same road closed its doors for the final time. The Tesco Express store is based on the corner of Evans Street and Holton Road on the site of the former Victoria Hotel which burned down. It is due to be completed in August of this year.
Nick Chandler of Jehu Project Services, said: “We hope that these stores will attract shoppers to the area and encourage people to shop locally and keep retail ignited in these smaller towns. Jehu has a great deal of experience in the retail sector, for instance this is the fifth Tesco Express we have completed. It will not only help to sustain local shopping, but will improve how the site looks as it was previously vacant with scaffolding on the adjoining building.”
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Wales has expressed worries about the future of retail in small towns and hopes that more retailers will continue to invest in these areas.
Cathy McLean, Director of the RICS Wales, said: “There have been widespread fears about the demise of smaller towns with the number of stores closing and going into administration. “However, there are retailers that are continuing to invest in our Welsh towns which is good news for their future preservation. “We hope that other retailers who are able to expand in the current climate follow the example of Dunelm and Tesco Express and recognise the potential in the smaller towns in Wales.”
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