Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s opens new £17m store close to Wirral waterfront, creating 17 jobs. Tony McDonough reports

Wirral Water has its first covenience store as Sainsbury’s opens the doors on a new £17m outlet.

Creating 17 jobs, the 4,300 sq ft shop is located in Duke Street next to the £130m Millers Quay residential development which comprises 500 apartments across six high-rise buildings.

This new Sainsbury’s Local is the latest chapter in a period of significant growth across Wirral Waters. Over the past year, Peel Waters and its partners have delivered new homes, infrastructure, commercial spaces and community facilities.

Construction of the store began in February 2026 and was completed in less than five months. The project also provided learning opportunities for students from Wirral Met College’s Wirral Waters Construction Campus.

The store is open daily from 7am to 11pm and offers a full range of convenience groceries, fresh produce, food-to-go, bakery items and frozen food, alongside a Click & Collect service for Argos, Habitat and Tu Clothing.

David Pilbeam, Sainsbury’s director of acquisitions, capital projects and engineering, said: “The area is developing into a thriving new neighbourhood and we’re proud to be part of that journey by bringing greater convenience, choice and value to residents, workers and visitors.

“We are also excited to be the first convenience store to open in the development and I’d like to thank Peel Waters for the opportunity to bring our newest Sainsbury’s Local to Wirral Waters, creating jobs and investing in the local economy in the process.”

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Richard Mawdsley, Wirral Waters director of development at Peel Waters, added: “The opening of Sainsbury’s Local is another significant milestone in the continued evolution of Wirral Waters and demonstrates the growing confidence in the place we are creating.”