 John Lewis will locate at Sprucefield |
Retailer John Lewis has been given the go ahead to locate a store in County Antrim, creating up to 1,000 jobs. An application for a large outlet at Sprucefield Park, near Lisburn, was submitted by developers last year. There will also be 29 other stores.
Traders in Belfast and Lisburn oppose the development, fearing it will have a detrimental impact on their businesses.
John Lewis had previously warned it would not go ahead with the store if planning permission was delayed.
The company said Sprucefield was the "only viable location" for its store in Northern Ireland and ruled out Belfast city centre, saying it could not sustain a full-range department store.
It said the �40m project would provide about 700 jobs in the department store and a further 200 in warehousing.
Northern Ireland Environment Minister Jeff Rooker said the decision to grant planning permission for the development was "in the best interests of the people of Northern Ireland".
"There are very positive economic and social benefits associated with this proposal in the overall public interest," he said.
"John Lewis is a major name in retailing and its entry into the Northern Ireland retail sector represents further choice for the Northern Ireland consumer and complements the retail experience on offer in other centres."
In a statement, John Lewis said it now looked forward to working with Westfield to deliver its 220,000 sq ft full line department store on the site.
Director of Retail Operations, Gareth Thomas, said: "We believe that today's decision represents good news for the whole of Northern Ireland and will secure substantial economic investment and jobs for the province.
"We are also confident that our first department store on the island of Ireland will complement the additional major retail development currently underway in Belfast city centre and will greatly enhance the overall retail offering of Northern Ireland."
'Real competition'
DUP Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson said he was "absolutely delighted" by the move.
"This is good news story for Lisburn and a good news story for Northern Ireland," he said.
"Some seem to think that this was a matter of competition between Belfast and Lisburn," he said.
 A 220,000 sq ft department store will be built on the site |
"Really it wasn't - there was only one location in Northern Ireland that John Lewis were interested in and that was at Sprucefield.
"The real competition here was with the Irish Republic... it opens up the prospect now of attracting significant numbers of shoppers across the border into Northern Ireland."
Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce had said that nobody except the developers was supporting the planned development.
It said the operators of shopping centres in Lisburn, Banbridge and Newry would be affected by the massive retail development, as well as Belfast.
Dave Pennick, vice president of the Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said it had tried hard to persuade John Lewis to opt for the city.
"I am totally dismayed at the minister's ability to make a decision in two weeks," he said.
"He admits he hasn't consulted anyone and you sometimes wonder how he made this decision - perhaps it's because we don't have control of our own destiny in this country."
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John Lewis is a major name in retailing and its entry into the Northern Ireland retail sector represents further choice for the Northern Ireland consumer
