Leona Barr, centre manager, marks the official rebrand of Junction One in Antrim to The Junction retail and leisure park. The rebrand is the first steps towards its planned £30million redevelopment which will include 20 new shops, cafes and restaurants, new road infrastructure, extensive landscaping and an outdoor multi-purpose sports court.

JUNCTION One retail park in Antrim has officially rebranded as The Junction retail and leisure park, taking the first steps towards its planned £30million redevelopment which will include 20 new shops, cafes and restaurants, new road infrastructure, extensive landscaping and an outdoor multi-purpose sports court.  

The redevelopment will make The Junction Northern Ireland’s largest shopping and leisure destination and will bring a significant number of new and well-known brands to the area for the first time, including food and leisure brands.

Changes have already started taking place onsite including new signage and branding.

Phase one of the development will include a new drive-thru coffee house and a drive-thru fast food restaurant.

The site is currently undergoing the planning process, and once approved, the development will commence immediately and will take a couple of years to complete.

It is expected that almost 475 new jobs will be created, with an increased wage bill of £8.4million.

An additional 430 jobs are also expected to be created during the construction phase of the project.

The site will be spilt into a number of different areas including a supermarket quarter, a food and drinks quarter, a home retail quarter and a shopping and leisure quarter.

Other developments include changes and improvements to the layout and access to the site, making it easier for visitors to enjoy the whole retail park including the existing Asda and Homebase stores.

To further improve customer experience, there will be additional car parking spaces, new cycle routes and vibrant landscaping.

The Junction retail park was bought by The Lotus Group in 2016 and Alastair Coulson, Asset and Property Management Director from The Lotus Group, said:

“The submission of the masterplan planning application follows a very successful community consultation process, extensive retail demand analysis and discussions with many retailers over the past three months.

“We are hopeful that following a positive planning decision we will be able to invest £30m into the retail park to dramatically change the look and feel of the site as it currently sits and help transform it into a top performing retail and leisure destination.

“The plans will improve the physical environment, the customer experience and will introduce new brands to the site for the first time.  The aim is to make The Junction Northern Ireland’s premier shopping and leisure destination.

“We also expect further investment will be triggered off the back of a successful redevelopment and indirect benefits will be numerous for the local supply chain and area”

For more information on the redevelopment visit thejunctionshopping.com