Supermarket giant Tesco is considering opening its 13th outlet in Plymouth after eyeing a unit at the multi-million pound Mount Wise regeneration.
Britain’s biggest retailer is understood to want to open a Tesco Express in the unit currently used as a sales office at the former naval base. The unit is on the ground floor of a block of flats in Charles Darwin Road opposite the Plymouth Cricket Club pitch.
The unit, next door to the Space to Move yoga and dance studio, was given planning consent for a convenience store when the land was originally earmarked for development, but it is understood Tesco is about to submit new plans to Plymouth City Council.
There are already nine Tesco Express stores in the city, in New George Street, Notte Street, Mutley Plain, Alexandra Road, Eggbuckland, two in Plympton, and under the St Teresa House and Discovery Heights student blocks in Beaumont Road and Cobourg Street. Tesco also has a large superstore at Transit Way, and huge Tesco Extra outlets in Woolwell and Lee Mill.
If Tesco does progress with its plans, it will be the first store it has opened in the Devonport area of the city. A Tesco Express did now.
In October 2021, Tesco said trading had been above expectations with a 16.6% jump in profit for the first half of its year and upgraded its profit forecast for the full year, saying it now expects adjusted operating profit to come in at between £2.5bn and £2.6bn.
The new Tesco Express would be in a block near the main entrance of the Mount Wise development currently used by housing association Sovereign and opposite the £13m Teesra House apartment building being completed by family-run Brady Construction Services, which has offices at the Millfields.
The Mount Wise site was used by the Royal Navy for 200 years before the senior service pulled out in 2004. The land, including the cricket pitch, was sold by Defence Estates for £5.5m in 2006.
Most Read
Mount Wise (Devon) Ltd, which has been developing the land, started on Phase One’s 159 units, a £14.5m project at that time dubbed “the village by the sea”, in 2010, completing it two years later.
In 2013 Mount Wise (Devon) Ltd started Phase Two, building flats and houses either side of the Grade II-listed Admiralty House, once the home of the Royal Navy’s top brass.
How to contact William Telford and Business Live
Business Live's South West Business Reporter is William Telford. William has more than a decade's experience reporting on the business scene in Plymouth and the South West. He is based in Plymouth but covers the entire region.
To contact William: Email: william.telford@reachplc.com - Phone: 01752 293116 - Mob: 07584 594052 - Twitter: - LinkedIn: - Facebook:
Stay in touch: BusinessLive newsletters have been re-designed to make them even better. We send morning bulletins straight to your inbox on the latest news, views and opinion in the South West. Get our breaking news alerts and weekly sector reviews too. Sign up now - it's free and it only takes a minute. To sign up for Business Live's daily newsletters click .
And visit the Business Live South West LinkedIn page
The £13.5m Phase Two scheme encompassed 59 units, a mix of houses and flats, built either side of the square, now a car park, outside Admiralty House. This has been named as Maritime Quarter. Meanwhile, 30 units (28 flats, and a couple of three-bed houses), went up either side of Admiralty House, with extensive views over the River Tamar.
Phase Three was Leeward House, the £10m, six-floor apartment block overlooking the Tamar. Work started in 2016 and it was completed by 2019 with 59 flats inside it. Admiralty House is now being restored and transformed into 12 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, with access to private gardens and parking. Teesra House represents Phase Four of the overall development.