A FIRM of highways engineering consultants has reached a landmark with food retailer Netto.

Sanderson Associates, based at Grange Moor, has completed its 150th development project for the chain – and is now working towards bringing up the double century.

Alison France, managing director of Sanderson Associates, said: “We have been working for Netto since February 1991 and it has proved to be an excellent relationship.

“We have completed 150 projects – and once current ones underway have been completed that will bring the total to 168.”

Miss France said the number of projects for the low-cost retailer had increased in recent years – as a result of the recession increasing the demand for discount stores.

Stores like Netto, Lidl and Aldi saw a big rise in sales as shoppers tightening their belts opted to “trade down”.

Netto has stores at Aspley in Huddersfield and at Ravensthorpe and Batley.

Miss France said: “The work we undertake for Netto is mostly for new store locations, but we have been doing some work on improving accesses to existing stores.

“We have been involved in planning application submissions from a highways perspective, covering traffic flow, pedestrian movement, sustainability andŠdetailed highway design work on the car parking layouts and access to new stores.

“We have also been involved in the new extension to Netto’s main warehouse at South Elmsall, near Pontefract.”

Sanderson Associates is currently working on 35 Netto stores across the north of England and the Midlands, including four in Leeds, two each in Rotherham and

Doncaster and one each in Sheffield and Otley.

During the past 12 months Sanderson Associates has won a monthly business award run by Huddersfield law firm Eaton Smith and the Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.

It was also shortlisted in the Examiner Business Awards 2009.

Sanderson Associates, founded in 1987, is a market leader in highway, traffic, transportation and water engineering and one of the most successful independent highways consultants in the United Kingdom.

Among other schemes, it is involved in all off-site highways work for a new £45m Marks & Spencer store near Chester.

Closer to home, it has advised on highways issues relating to the Kirklees College campus planned for the Waterfront Quarter at Chapel Hill.

It has also worked on behalf of other retailers, including Morrisons, Asda and Tesco as well as non-food retail developments, office schemes and residential sites.