To mark the opening of the store, the Clark Contracts project team attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside B&Q unit manager David Macpherson and his team, local MP John Lamont, Councillors Watson McAteer and John Paton Day from Scottish Borders Council, and local piper Bruce Hastie.

The new store has been designed and built to help support B&Q’s commitment to reducing the impact of its operations on the environment. It is electrically heated using energy generated by solar panels, which is stored in batteries on-site; maximising efficiency, and helping to reduce its reliance on the electric grid. The store is insulated using highly sustainable products made from rock and mineral fibre, and harvests rainwater, which is used to water plants for sale in the garden centre, and flush toilets

The new 20,000 sq. ft store build includes a showroom area, tools and hardware, paint and décor and a garden centre. There is a wide range of services including paint mixing, a timber cutting service and a TradePoint area for trade customers including dedicated trade parking.

Kingsley Mack, B&Q director of property, said: “Over the last nine months we’ve been working with the Clark Contracts team to bring our new, modern and purpose-built store to life, and give our customers access to a fully considered space with their convenience in mind. We look forward to welcoming customers to the store.”

Michael Scanlan, director at Clark Contracts, added: ”We were delighted to continue the growth of our dedicated Retail division and complete this project with new customer B&Q. We enjoyed working collaboratively with B&Q and the design team to deliver this store, and hope this new unit will improve the shopping experience for local customers.”

The project was delivered with Building Design Northern (BDN), Dave Dickinson & Associates and Tennyson Suite.