It's been four years in the making, but now, the day has arrived for the region's newest superstore to open its doors.

Supermarket giants Asda's new store off Hall Road, official opens its doors to the public today at 10am, as part of a new £100m plus development on the former Bally shoe factory site.

The new store, has created 320 jobs, with more than 300 vacancies being filled by new employees, while several current employees have relocated from other stores.

The 35,000m/sq site, which includes an in-store restaurant, will be accompanied on the site by a gym, eight retail units, and three business units, all of which are expected to be open by March 2016. There are also plans in place for a national chain pub to open a new site on the development.

Dave Lennox, store manager, said: 'The site is very much designed as a 'destination' shop, with the community in mind. When the full development is complete, people will be able to treat it as a place to spend a day out, rather than just a place to do their shopping.

'The new staff have fitted in brilliantly so far, everybody has worked incredibly hard to get the store ready to be open.'

Lord mayor Brenda Arthur will be on hand to cut the ribbon and declare the store officially open, which will come as a big relief to Mr Lennox.

He added: 'It's been stressful getting everything ready in time but I'm very proud of how it is looking and how many new people we have been able to take on.

'I'm also very proud of the way the store has been future-proofed, with solar-panelled roofs and LED lighting to make sure the site is as eco-friendly as possible.'

What do you think of the new store? Contact David Hannant on 01603 693892.