Green light for Desborough Sainsbury's plan

Desborough residents will finally have another supermarket to choose from after plans for a Sainsbury’s were approved.

For years those in the town have faced a choice between going to a Co-op, who had a 'monopoly' on food shopping there, or travelling to Kettering or Market Harborough.

But now work on a new Sainsbury’s on the northern edge of the town is set to begin this summer after North Northamptonshire Council gave their planning bid the green light.

Sainsbury’s property director Patrick Dunne said: “We were eager to progress with this application after the incredible response we received from local residents during a consultation.

"We’ve worked very closely with the council to ensure this will be the best possible store for the community and I’m thrilled we can now start to bring our vision for Sainsbury’s in Desborough to life.”

The 11,000 sq ft Sainsbury’s store will be on land next to the BP petrol station, near the Magnetic Park distribution centre.

Confirmation of another shop to choose from has been a long time coming - eight years after Tesco abandoned plans to build a store on the old Lawrence factory site and more than a decade after previous Sainsbury's suggestions came to nothing.

The new store is set to open in spring 2023 and will create about 40 jobs in total. Customers will also have the opportunity to order from Argos, Habitat and Tu Clothing ranges for collection in-store.

Sainsbury’s said that, during a consultation phase, the plan received ‘overwhelming’ support from nearly 500 respondents. They said that 97.9 per cent of those surveyed said they would support improved shopping choice in Desborough and 95 per cent expressed support for Sainsbury’s specifically.

Cllr David Howes (Con), who represents Desborough on North Northamptonshire Council, said: “I’ve worked extremely hard with Sainsbury’s to ensure that the planning application was perfect for the local community.

"It’s been great to see all the positive feedback and the enthusiasm for the store.

"This is a huge investment from Sainsbury’s and I am excited for work to begin.”