A NEW £20million supermarket is being planned for Barrhead.

The new Asda store could be open by Spring 2014, subject to planning consent, and will create 400 jobs, half of which will be in the construction phase.

The store will be built on a site owned by East Renfrew-shire Council, which borders Church Road, Main Street and the Levern Water.

And Asda says it wants local residents to "play a part" in shaping the development.

To that end supermarket bosses are to host two public events for residents to see their proposals.

The events which will showcase the store plans will take place on Saturday July 28 and Saturday August 25, from 11am to 4pm, at Barrhead Sports Centre in the town's Main Street.

Asda representatives will also be on hand to give further details about the proposals and answer any questions.

The company has already set up a website — www.asdabarrhead.co.uk — where individuals are being encouraged to provide feedback on the store proposals.

The new store will have a sales area of 25,000 sq ft and a gross store area of approximately 40,000 sq ft, a petrol station and a 250 space car park.

The store represents a £20m investment in the local economy, of which £800,000 will be used to integrate the supermarket within the town centre through a range of public realm, access and green space improvements to the front and rear of the store.

Lisa Rooke, Asda's Property Communications Manager for Scotland, said: "We are delighted to be holding these two community engagement events, allowing the public the opportunity to view our proposals for the store and give us their feedback.

"If our planning application is successful, this will enable us to make a significant investment in the town, regenerating a currently redundant site, and generate up to 200 new jobs for local people.

"We hope that as many people as possible are able to join us at these events and we very much look forward to seeing them there."

The store plan forms part of a scheme to re-ignite Barrhead's regeneration and follows a £3.8m investment by East Renfrewshire Council to extend Barrhead Sports Centre to create a new leisure and learning centre, Barrhead Steps.

ewan.fergus@ eveningtimes.co.uk