National hardware giant Bunnings is set to break ground at the Newell Highway site of its Narrabri store in August.
The company advised The Courier it anticipated opening doors to customers by mid-2022.
The development of a Bunnings store in Narrabri, to service towns in the North West, represents a $15 million investment in the venture.
Construction of the site is expected to create 45 jobs as well as 45 jobs once the store is open for business.
The store will span more than 5000 square metres on its highway site, on the edge of the Narrabri industrial estate.
It will feature a main retail area, outdoor nursery, timber and building materials area, as well as parking for more than 80 cars.
Bunnings area manager, John Newell, said the new store represents a significant direct investment in the Narrabri community.
“We’re really excited construction of the new store will soon be kicking off and we look forward to providing further updates to the community as the project progresses,” Mr Newell said.
The project went to tender in May and its ground-breaking in August will mark another milestone in the store’s development.
As part of the development approval granted by Narrabri Shire Council last year, Bunnings will enter into a voluntary planning agreement to pay a contribution towards upgrades to the intersection of Newell Highway and Saleyards Lane to accommodate an increase in traffic as a result of the store.
While the store will have prominent exposure with its frontage on the Newell Highway, access will predominantly take place from Saleyards Lane.
As part of the development application process, Bunnings responded to concerns raised about the project during the consultation phase.
In one of its responses, Bunnings said Narrabri has been identified as a store location for Bunnings in view of the significant regional service role of the town.
“This includes the ability to attract customers seeking access to a Bunnings from other towns in the surrounding region, including Moree, Boggabri, Wee Waa, etc.
“Store data indicates customers from Narrabri and surrounds are currently travelling a significant distance to existing Bunnings stores (primarily Tamworth and Inverell), representing ‘escape spending’ from the region by customers seeking the popular Bunnings warehouse store format.”
Read more like this:
- Bunnings store to hit major milestone soon
- Bunnings confirms its proposed Narrabri project is on track
- Bunnings’ development application approved by Narrabri Shire Council
