Plans for Morrisons Daily convenience store in Berwick town centre

Morrisons Daily is planning to open a convenience store in the former O2 unit on Marygate.

It has submitted an application for a premises licence to Northumberland County Council.

It states: ‘This is a new business and the site, currently empty, will be fully refurbished with a significant investment as a new convenience store.

‘The applicant, a personal licence holder with retail experience, would like to offer some alcohol sales to allow the business to offer the complete all-round general convenience service.

‘The new shop will sell an extensive range of goods including newspapers, magazines, dairy, frozen goods, soft drinks, fruit and veg, bread, sweets, cigarettes, a wide variety of groceries, household goods, hot drinks, baby products, lottery tickets etc. The shop will also offer services such as paypoint.

‘The proposed hours of operation (24 hours) would provide the greatest flexibility for the business, moving forward, to enable it to develop and operate to its full potential. The clear focus of the shop will be as a general convenience store, with alcohol sales just being a part of the overall business.’

While Berwick has several edge of town supermarkets, there are none in the town centre and limited choice for buying fresh produce.

The proposal has been welcomed as ‘excellent news for the town’ by Berwick East councillor Georgina Hill.

In a social media post, she also teases the prospect of a restaurant/bar on Marygate.

She writes: “All I can say just now is - watch this space!”