Job-creating Home Bargains set for Newport retail park

Home Bargains owner TJ Morris looks set to bag consent for a new store at a retail park in Newport, paving the way for 90 jobs.The discount retailer currently has a smaller outlet at Newport West Retail Park.Now it is proposing the construction of one retail unit on the site which would house a 35,000 sq ft store.The application is seeking consent for a comprehensive redevelopment of the existing retail site. Proposals will require demolition of existing retail units and the construction of one retail unit for occupation by Home Bargins.TJ Morris is said to have indicated confidence in the location and its trading experience at the site and therefore is “seeking to invest in its regeneration and provide a larger flagship store”.Newport West Retail Park is an existing out of centre collection of retail and commercial uses south of Newport city centre.Originally constructed in 1998, the applicant said that the units and format “no longer meet the needs of the retail market”.Formally, Lidl occupied the site as an anchor tenant but have since relocated to a purpose-built store on Cardiff Road, which is said to have “further impacted the attractiveness of the existing development and units to the retail sector”.The application states that 90 jobs are proposed from the new store.An officer’s report for Newport City Council’s planning committee on 4 October recommends granting permission for the development, subject to conditions.