The lights may be on but new village Co-op will not open until New Year - and here’s why
Opening of a new Co-op at Sutton near Ely has been put back until after Christmas. Picture; ARCHANT - Credit: Archant
Opening of a new Co-op on the outskirts of a Cambridgeshire village has been delayed.
Opening of a new Co-op at Sutton near Ely has been put back until after Christmas. Picture; ARCHANT - Credit: Archant
Central England Co-op has put the opening date back to the New Year and with it the immediate prospects of full and part-time work for new employees.
The store is being built at Sutton near Ely and was due to open before Christmas but road works have held it up.
A Central England Co-op spokesperson said: “Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances the launch of our new community food store in Ely Road, Sutton has been slightly delayed.
“The team would like to thank locals for their patience and look forward to welcoming the local community to the new store early in the new year.”
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In September, the company advertised that “dozens of jobs” were on offer at two new stores in East Anglia.
Up to 40 posts were being recruited for the Sutton store and another at Reepham, Norfolk.
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Local councillors took to the Sutton Facebook pages to explain that remaining works are on hold pending final agreement of the legal documents with the county council over road works.
Cllr Mark Inskip wrote: “Once these are agreed the Co-op will look to begin the fitting out in the hope that the related road works can be programmed in fairly promptly. “However, the opening is likely to be late January at best therefore. It’s frustrating that we’ve so close but not quite there.”
Cllr Lorna Dupre said the delay was to enable the county council and the developer to finalise the legal handover of the road so that roadworks can start.
“There’ll be weeks of lead-in time and no roadworks allowed on the A142 in December, so the Co-op will not now be opening before the end of the year.
“The roadworks will take about six weeks.”
Work on the A142 will stop in December to enable a clear run through to Ely to enable Christmas shoppers to access the city more readily.
John Nickson, operations manager for the Co-op, said: “We are excited about our new stores in Reepham and Sutton and cannot wait to be part of the local communities in both areas.
“The new sites will feature a vibrant and modern store with all of their essentials and also see us invest in the local economy in each area.”
