Lidl Northern Ireland has submitted planning applications for three new stores at Bangor, Craigavon and Dungannon.

The new stores will be located at Rushmere Shopping Centre in Craigavon and adjacent to Bloomfield Shopping Centre in Bangor. Both will replace longstanding nearby outlets with all-new, brighter, larger, and modern retail outlets with sustainability built in.

A planning application has also been submitted for a new supermarket and café at Anne Street in Dungannon, replacing its Scotch Street store, on a site which has been derelict for almost four decades.

Altogether these three stores represent a significant multi-million-pound investment and will support hundreds of jobs during development and construction phases. When the stores open more than 50 retail jobs will be created.

Existing stores in all three areas already employ over 60 employees, all of whom will relocate on completion.

The stores which are subject to planning permission by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, Ards and North Down Borough Council and Mid Ulster Council are expected to open next year.

The proposed new store at the south end of Rushmere Shopping Centre, replacing its existing outlet at Northway, will see the creation of a 2,470 sq. m unit at the former petrol station site, including an expansive 1,650 sq. m sales floor with almost 20 new jobs added to an existing team of over 20 employees.

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A new supermarket is set to be built in Bangor on Skipperstone Road, near its current location on Bloomfield Road. The new store will offer upgraded facilities and better access, enhancing the shopping experience for local residents. It will also create 20 new jobs, doubling its current workforce.

In Dungannon, a new state-of-the-art store and café will also double its local team to 40 employees.

Lidl Northern Ireland Property Director, Chris Speers, said: "Welcoming more than a half a million shoppers through our store network each week, we continue to prioritise delivering the best shopping experience for our customers. Alongside our ambitious expansion plans in the region, we are focused on upgrading our existing store network to bring older stores in line with our industry leading, sustainably focused ‘Concept’ design.

"I am delighted to confirm new plans to relocate and upgrade our stores in Bangor, Craigavon and Dungannon, where we have served local communities for more than two decades. These proposed new stores are important for us, and we hope that new and existing customers are as excited as we are by our plans for significant local investment in our local communities."

Ivan Ryan, Regional Managing Director at Lidl Northern Ireland, said:

"As we mark our landmark 25th year in Northern Ireland, we are firmly focused on expanding and enhancing our growing local store network. Since 2018, Lidl Northern Ireland has consistently been the region’s fastest-growing supermarket, so it’s clear to see that our established ‘Big on Quality, Lidl on Price’ proposition is resonating with even more shoppers.

"Committed to providing the best quality produce at the best value, our goal is to make it easier for new and existing customers to access great local value and choice wherever they are. Our plans for upgraded new stores in Bangor, Craigavon and Dungannon will better meet the needs of a growing customer base in these areas and cements our long-term commitment to serving and investing in local communities."

Public consultations on all three new stores get under way in the next few weeks in existing retail outlets. The first is today, 13 February, in Dungannon from 4.30pm to 6.30pm, in Bangor on 19 March at 4.30pm to 6.30pm and in Craigavon on 8 April from 3.00pm to 6.00pm.