CONSTRUCTION of new Lidl and Home Bargains stores in Barnard Castle has been delayed by about a month because of Covid-19.
Workers expect to return to the site, alongside the A688 Staindrop Road, after Christmas.
Contract manager David Holmes said work on the multi-million pound development came to a halt about three weeks ago because of a hiccough with the land sale.
He added that people working from home during the pandemic had led to the delay in the sale going through.
Mr Holmes said: “We started in good faith that the land sale would go through. We had done some investigation work and we had worked with Northern Powergrid about removing the overhead power cables.”
Other work that had been carried out before workers left the site included installing tree protection measures, and cutting back shrubs.
