THE British retailing giant, Sears, has lodged a planning application with the Department of the Environment in the North to carry out a massive retail leisure and housing development at Crescent Link in the Waterside area of Derry.

Up to 400 new jobs would be created if the go ahead was given for what would be Derry's first retail park. Executives from Sears are in Derry for a series of public consultations on their proposed development.