The British supermarket group Sainsbury's has been granted planning permission to build two new outlets in Newry and Derry. In Newry it will be the anchor tenant in a £45 million sterling shopping centre which will result in 750 retail posts, in addition to the 300 jobs it will create during the construction phase.

The development will also include a filling station, a food court, a 10-screen multiplex cinema, and spaces for more than 1,000 cars. Building work will begin before the end of the year, with the store due to open next summer.

Sainsbury's regional property director, Mr Chris Fenner, said the company was delighted at the news. "Newry is a strong and growing retail centre, and we are very pleased to be playing our part in building the town into a major retail destination."

The managing director of the developers of the shopping centre, Mr Gerard O'Hare, said the centre could be the catalyst for the revival of Newry as a thriving commercial centre.

In Derry, the Environment Minister, Lord Dubs, has overruled objections from some local retailers to confirm planning permission for a 33,000 square foot Sainsbury's store on Strand Road.

Sainsbury's opened its first Northern Ireland store in Ballymena last December. A second was opened in south Belfast in March. Two further outlets are under construction in Coleraine and Craigavon.

Meanwhile, Marks and Spencer has announced details of its second Belfast store, which is due to open in the spring next to Sainsbury's outlet in the south of the city. The 34,000 square foot store will create around 150 full-time and part-time jobs.

Around one third of the floor space will taken up by food products, and one third by clothing. The announcement comes as the company marks the 30th anniversary of the opening of its first store in Northern Ireland. Earlier this year it announced plans for two more outlets, in Newry and east Belfast.