WORK on Ely’s new Sainsbury’s superstore is only a couple of months from getting under way, supermarket bosses confirmed this week.

The supermarket giant is in the final stages of preliminary work on its Lisle Lane site, and is expecting to lay the first brick of the new superstore in time for the start of summer.

Jim Woolcott, Sainsbury’s project manager, said: “We anticipate that construction will get under way in the coming few months. We are looking forward to delivering a new Sainsbury’s store that provides more customer choice, jobs for local people and the regeneration of the former chemical works

“In the meantime, we are carrying out the necessary preliminary works as agreed with the council.”

As part of its planning consent, granted back in June, Sainsbury’s was required to carry out a series of contamination, archaeological and traffic surveys, with all findings required to be reported back to and approved by the district council.

According to the plans, the new store will bring about 400 new jobs to the district along with 470 parking spaces and a new recycling facility.

The majority of the parking for the supermarket will be underground with customers taking travalators up into the store itself.

In its planning application, Sainsbury’s predicted that the new store would bring in �9 million in extra trade to the city and could also claw back �6 million that is being spent elsewhere in the county.

A part-subsidised bus service will take customers from the north of the city to the Lisle Lane store.