DISCOUNT retailer Home Bargains is planning a new superstore and garden centre next a proposed retirement village in Carrickfergus.
The budget chain has identified a site close to M&S and Lidl at the former Courtauld’s factory in the Co Antrim town.
Much of the broader site is already subject to a £35 million retirement community proposal.
The retailer’s Liverpool-based parent owner TJ Morris has notified Mid and East Antrim Borough Council of its intention to construct a 42,000 sq ft development.
Home Bargains currently leases a unit at the town’s DeCourcy Shopping Centre, which went on the market over the summer.
TJ Morris has already initiated the pre-application process for the new store, which will involve a community consultation ahead of the full application being lodged in early 2022.
The initial plans involve a retail store, garden centre, car parking, service yard and retaining walls.
Belfast-based property group Kilmona significantly redrew its plans for the former Courtauld’s site earlier this year, dropping a medical centre from its major proposal.
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s planning committee voted against the recommendation of its own officials to approve the original £45m bid back in 2019.
Kilmona re-entered the planning process in April 2021, altering its proposal to include a drive-thru restaurant and a larger 125-unit nursing home.
The developer also cut the number of apartments, instead opting for more housing.
The redrafted bid states that up to 575 residents could potentially live on the site.
