Sainsbury’s Superstore Welwyn Garden City

A new Sainsbury’s superstore in Welwyn Garden City is due to be constructed and it will be four times the size of the original store. The new store will be 152,000 square feet and in addition to creating a large shop with more products, Sainsbury’s is also regenerating the surrounding area.

Billington Structures are supplying 1,500 tonnes of structural steelwork for the new superstore which was designed by architect Chetwood Associates. The four storey building will be a braced framed structure with cellform beams supporting a mixture of 150 hollow core and 100 solid precast units.

Once building was underway for the Sainsbury’s superstore they were keen to keep the community involved and fully briefed on how it was progressing. They created a viewing platform to allow children from a local primary school and their parents to see how it was progressing. Several groups from Parkway pre-school toured the site and saw the cranes in action. Sainsbury’s is also funding a raised brick-based garden and allotment bed at the Free Church on Church Road.

With help from volunteers at YMCA Training, Space and the church, the bed will allow all members of the community to participate as they will be accessible to wheelchair users as well as those who have less mobility. Working together, these community groups will provide new and improved planted gardens at the Free Church.

The new Sainsbury’s superstore will help to regenerate an area of the city centre in Welwyn Garden City. It will provide residents with a much larger store with a wider range of products when it reopens.