SU6452 : Building a John Lewis / Waitrose
taken 9 years ago, near to Basingstoke, Hampshire, England
The majority of these photographs documenting the construction were taken from the Bunnian Place (station car park) which overlooks the site, a few were taken from within the Eastrop roundabout to the south and some on Basing View next to Matrix House.
In July 2014 Contractors Bowmer and Kirkland started work on building a new Waitrose and John Lewis at Home store in Basingstoke. The original schedule was for a 68-week construction process, the planned opening date was set in September 2015 for the 12 November 2015.
The total investment by John Lewis has been estimated at £6 million. During the construction phase the John Lewis Partnership website stated that the “‘at home’ format focuses exclusively on the home sector including home and electrical and home technology assortments, and with no fashion assortment.”
The new store was expected to create 330 extra jobs. John Lewis at Home Basingstoke shop planned to feature a 47,500 square foot over two floors with 16,000 product lines. The branch would focus on furniture, furnishing accessories, electrical and home technology and nursery goods.
The new Waitrose Basingstoke shop was expected to feature 25,500 square foot of selling space, including a customer café, juice bar, and a wine and beer bar where customers can also enjoy tapas and deli platters.