New Morrisons supermarket from Russells Construction

Construction of Ordsall’s new Morrisons supermarket has been completed, bringing a new shopping experience one step closer for local residents. Main contractor Russells Construction and developer LPC Living this week handed over the shell of the 50,000 sq ft unit on Trafford Road to Morrisons, which will now begin fitting out the store in preparation for its opening later this year.

Michael Spence (Morrisons Project Manager), Simon Ashdown (LPC Living) and Gareth Russell (Russells Construction) Photographer: Jon Parker Lee

The completion of the building, part of the mixed use £50m Radclyffe Park development, is the latest milestone in the wider regeneration of Ordsall which will see the delivery of new homes, jobs and public spaces for the community. The store will provide a much needed amenity to support the long term sustainability of the Ordsall community. It also complements the nearby MediaCity:UK development, less than 1km away in Salford Quays, and will offer increased choice of retail shopping for its many thousand new employees.

Andrew Russell, managing director of Trafford-based Russells Construction, said: “This handover is an important milestone in the regeneration of Ordsall and we are looking forward to supporting the Morrisons team as they take over the building and ready the store for opening. I’m pleased with how smoothly the project has run considering what a busy development site this is. We have worked closely with an expert team – the architects, our valued supply chain, LPC Living and Morrisons – to ensure the timely delivery of this scheme and understand how important the new store is to the local community, with whom we have been working closely, in particular through the schools project we are running with LPC Living.”

The mixed-use LPC Living regeneration project includes 114 new homes – a mixture of three-storey townhouses and apartments – a dozen retail units and a 156-bed hotel. Russells Construction will continue on site completing the remaining retail units and residential element which are expected to be handed over later this year.

Designed by Liverpool-based architect Falconer Chester Hall, Radclyffe Park is the latest phase in the regeneration of Ordsall which has seen LPC Living invest more than £150m over the last five years. The developer has already delivered a range of new benefits for the area, including the new Primrose Hill primary school, nearly 500 modern affordable homes and improvements to parks and open spaces. The overall scheme is expected to create more than 500 jobs, with priority given to those in the local community.

Simon Ashdown, development director for LPC Living, said: “We’re delighted with the work Russells Construction has done at Radclyffe Park, they have been a pro-active partner throughout the build. Now that the supermarket building has been handed over to Morrisons, the much-needed facilities and new jobs coming to Ordsall have moved another step closer.”

The store is expected to open to customers in November 2011
ENDS