200 jobs planned for new Morrisons supermarket
Mar 21 2009 by Emma McKinney, Birmingham Mail
PLANS are afoot to build a new supermarket in Birmingham creating more than 200 jobs.
Morrisons has submitted plans with Birmingham City Council for a store on the former Astra Training Centre site on the A41 Holyhead Road in Handsworth.
If it gets the green light, it would create up to 235 jobs, which Morrisons’ chiefs insist would be given as a priority to local people left jobless by the recession.
Morrisons’ bid for planning approval comes after the supermarket carried out a phone survey on families in the area to establish whether there would be enough demand for a new store.
The research found that more than half of residents said they had to travel outside of Handsworth to shop, with the three nearest popular locations being Asda stores in Perry Barr, Great Barr and Cape Hill.
With Asda dominating the area, Morrisons chiefs say the council should give their plans the go-ahead to create more competition between retailers and choice for customers.
