Developers Henry Boot Ltd have unveiled a vision for Selby's new shopping centre which will open later this year.

The Abbey Walk shopping centre will include a leading supermarket chain which will be paying £300,000 a year in rent.

Somerfield, which last month signed up to lease 32,000 sq ft of floor space at the centre, agreed the rental with Henry Boot Ltd.

The UK's fifth largest supermarket chain, which has taken a 25-year lease, plans to recruit up to 200 local people when it opens its doors about October.

Henry Boot project manager David Anderson said it was providing refrigeration units, floor ducts, first floor offices and trolley bays for Somerfield, all of which were reflected in the rental.

He said Somerfield had swallowed up four of the shopping complex's original 10 units, with national household goods retailer Wilkinson taking up another two.

Only four units now remained available, two of which were on the verge of being signed up by national retailers.

Mr Anderson said: "The latest potential tenants are non-food retailers, and matters are currently in solicitors' hands."

He said the £7 million development at the rear of Gowthorpe was ideally situated in the middle of a 20-kilometre catchment area of 315,000 people.

It would include a new roundabout entrance in Scott Road, pedestrian accesses in Gowthorpe and Finkle Street, and 300 car parking spaces in addition to the existing 200-space car park alongside.

The centre should be finished by June, with shops opening over the following few months after completing their own fitting-out and staff recruitment.

A total of more than 300 jobs is expected to be created.

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