* NEW STORE: Robin and Alan Mercer are joined by Bangor Mayor Andrew Muir at the opening of their new Hillmount store in Bangor, Co Down. The Mercer family has invested £1 million and created 20 new jobs in the 30,000 sq ft garden centre on Belfast Road. The centre is Hillmount's first location away from its Castlereagh base, which opened in 1940. It includes a restaurant and has more than 5,000 plants to choose from and a Christmas shop, as well as garden supplies area, barbecue section and a range of garden furniture and accessories. The new staff include 10 employees who had worked at the recently closed Hanna & Browne store in the town