North West One store will divert £2.8m from centre

A proposed new retail development on the Crescent Link will potentially divert £2.8m in trade from the city centre.
'North West One.''North West One.'
'North West One.'

That’s according to the administrator of GSB Guernsey Trading Ltd., the firm originally behind what’s now known as ‘North West One.’

It’s estimated that the overall project, which includes a ten-screen cinema, a gymnasium, a drive-through, auxiliary health care facilities and a major retail store, and is now being led by Ulster Bank and KPMG, will involve an investment of £45m.

Over 500 sustainable jobs are predicted if, as hoped, the project is completed in 2017. New travel and technical documents were submitted in support of the application last week.

The application has already attracted numerous letters of support - from the DUP, the UUP and local community associations, for example, as well as objections from rival traders.

During the summer John Hansen of KPMG wrote to the Environment Minister Mark H. Durkan, acknowledging the retail element would result in a small amount of trade being diverted from the city centre.

“Through our economic analysis and retail impact assessments we have robustly tested the benefits of the scheme. We have also tested the displacement assumptions and are confident that much of this potential impact will be in relation to convenience shopping, challenging the limited number of multiple foodstore retailers that dominate the local market, which are over trading by £60million collectively in Derry City,” he stated.

“At a constituency level we are sensitive to the debate on independent retail trade in Derry City Centre and have carried out much work on testing that potential impact. In comparison terms the impact on the city centre will see the potential diversion of around £2.8m, which equates to 1.4 per cent,” he added.