Revised planning application for a £150m development at Sprucefield anchored by Northern Ireland’s first John Lewis store has been revealed.

The revamped proposals cut from 29 to 19 the number of additional shops in the scheme — and developers Westfield said they hoped the scaled down version would overcome objections and win the approval of planners.

They said the scheme would provide employment for 2,000 people — 700 of them at John Lewis — and boost Northern Ireland’s economy.

Westfield, owners of CastleCourt, said the 50,000m sq development would include a “vibrant mix” of fashion, homeware and leisure goods outlets, with cafes and restaurants.

Westfield and its joint venture partners Snoddons Construction submitted an application to the Planning Service yesterday. It is expected the next stage will be a public inquiry, which Westfield hopes will pre-empt any legal action by opponents.

Gareth Thomas, director of retail design and development at John Lewis, said he hoped the revised planning application would “dispel” the concerns of opponents to the original application, which he said amounted to “a few individuals’ commercial interests”.

“I have a sense of deja-vu in coming here today and I hope we are more successful this time than we have been on either of the two previous occasions.”

Mr Thomas emphasised that Sprucefield was John Lewis’ one and only choice of location in Northern Ireland.

“Sprucefield is uniquely well connected in Northern Ireland... Belfast is not an option, so it's Sprucefield or not at all.”

He said the site provided access to 75% of the population of Northern Ireland in a one-hour drive and a further quarter of a million people from the north of the Irish Republic.

Peter Miller, a director of development, design and construction at Westfield, claimed support was strong for the development.

“The silent majority are extremely supportive and we hope to bring out some of that in a number of different initiatives. We want to demonstrate to the decision-makers and opponents that there is a huge groundswell of support for this scheme.”

He said he hoped the latest application would benefit from the ‘IKEA effect’, by which the Swedish furniture giant’s application for planning permission had been processed quickly, leading to a successful opening in Belfast.

Mr Miller said he hoped the public inquiry process would see “opposition heard in a more robust way than last time round”.

“The opponents really come from commercial self-interests rather than people who don’t want to see the scheme happen.”

He said he hoped to see the scheme finished in two years and eight months.

“We hope the decision-makers realise how important this is to the economy.”