Work commences on £7m Lidl store

Work is underway on Lidl Northern Ireland’s new £7m flagship store.Located in the heart of the Boucher Road retail area, positioned to the front of the National Football Stadium and Olympia Leisure Centre, the South Belfast store will add an extra 40 permanent jobs.Up to 120 temporary jobs will also be supported during the development phase.Ganson UK is bringing forward the 24,627 sq ft retail unit, which will include an adjacent 148-space customer car park with EV charging stations.Belfast City Council backed plans for the store last year, enabling Lidl to grow its total Northern Ireland store count to 43 by the end of 2024.Elsewhere, construction is underway on a £6.5m store that will anchor Carryduff Shopping Centre.Lidl Northern Ireland managing director Ivan Ryan said: “We’re delighted to kick off 2024 with a number of key expansion projects and are quickly advancing our plans for our first store in South Belfast. This new store on Boucher Road will bring major investment to the locality and will create new jobs and bring real choice, quality and the best value to residents and visitors to this part of the city.”The highly anticipated Boucher Road store will be a welcome addition to the busy retail estate and it further expands our presence across all four corners of the city. We’re delighted to soon be able to serve the south Belfast community at this iconic site next to the region’s most prestigious National Football Stadium.”We’re also really pleased that new store plans in Carryduff are now progressing, and we look forward to celebrating its opening and to welcoming new colleagues and customers in both locations this year.”