Asda on the way

Asda wants its Newark store to open by Christmas 2011, but residents are warned they face disruption during building work.

Newark Bus Station will close on May 29 and work will start soon after on the £50m Asda-led redevelopment of the Potterdyke site.

Three temporary on-street bus stops will be provided outside the Gilstrap Centre on Castlegate, on the corner of Zizzi on The Wharf and opposite the NCP carpark on Lombard Street.

A bus stop on Lombard Street will move from opposite the bus station towards the junction with St Mark’s Lane. Temporary bus shelters will be provided.

On-street parking will not be permitted at The Wharf, from Bargate to Beastmarket Hill, after May 29.

Traffic on The Wharf will be one-way between these points, and will only be allowed to turn left at the junction with Beastmarket Hill. The temporary parking restrictions will be lifted once the new bus station is open.

There will be two layover bays on The Wharf where buses will wait for an average of ten minutes.

Mr Roger Blaney, Newark and Sherwood District Council’s cabinet member for sustainable development and regeneration, said: “Regrettably, these temporary arrangements are likely to lead to some disruption to businesses, motorists and bus passengers.

“However, this activity shows the project is gathering pace and once complete will provide the people of Newark with a new Asda supermarket as well as replacement carparking facilities, a new bus station, doctors’ surgery, a health centre and modern shop units.”

The new Asda store should open by Christmas next year, with the new bus station opening at the same time.

The store, which will sell the full Asda food range and non-food goods including George clothing, is expected to create more than 300 full and part-time jobs.