Opening dates for a new retail park development that includes a Tesco and Home Bargains store have been announced.
Signs show that the brand new Tesco store at Houghton Colliery Retail Park is set to open on December 5 as construction winds down at the 65,000sq ft site.
The development also holds a small petrol station and a Home Bargains store - but shoppers will have to wait until March 8, 2025, to get a look inside.
This completion comes five years after the site was sold to Hellens Group and Fintry Estates in 2019 - before which it was left derelict for 40 years.
The development of the site has previously been hailed as wholly positive by bosses and politicians who announced the development with excitement in 2023.
Cllr Kevin Johnson, Dynamic City Cabinet Member at Sunderland City Council, has previously said: “The redevelopment of the former Houghton Colliery site is a project we have been working on for some time, so we’re absolutely thrilled to see work progressing on the scheme.”
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He said: “As a Sunderland-based company, we are committed to supporting local regeneration projects and seeing the area benefit from multi-million-pound developments.
"The support from Sunderland City Council has been invaluable in unlocking this particularly challenging brownfield site."
The latest pictures taken at the site show the Tesco fully stocked up and ready to open as the final touches are made to the store.
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