A SUPERMARKET giant has revealed the timescale for the opening of a new 250-job store.

Morrisons revealed last week that it plans to open a new store on Durham City Retail Park, in the Dragonville area of Durham.

The company has now confirmed it hopes to open the new outlet in time for Christmas next year.

Morrisons says it will activate existing planning permission for a food store on the site, currently occupied by B&Q, with the DIY store continuing to trade on a smaller portion of the site.

Richard Haynes, development executive with Morrisons, said: “We’re on track for a Christmas 2015 opening.

“After the enquiries we’ve had I’m delighted to underpin our commitment to Durham and can’t wait to get cracking on delivering our new store.”

The new supermarket will be in direct competition with the huge Tesco Extra store nearby on the former Mackay’s carpet factory site and a planned Asda store on the opposite side of Dragon Lane.