New Co-op store will create jobs

The former Heysham health centre has been converted into a Co-op store.

It will be officially opened by members of the community from Trumacar School, Wesley Methodist Church and TIC Dynamos.

The £700k store on Middleton Road, is one of the first in the UK to bear the new Co-op logo.

The new premises will offer self-serve tills, an in-store bakery range, Costa Coffee, a new ATM and a focus on fresh food meal ideas and essentials.

The store will also highlight its Community Pioneer role where a member of the food store team, Jade Westrop, will work to foster involvement in community activities, from local fundraising initiatives to helping to understand and develop solutions to meet community needs including support for the British Red Cross, The Co-op’s new charity partnership which will help to tackle social isolation and loneliness in local communities.

Paul Wiggins, manager of the store, said: “We are thrilled to have made such a significant investment in Heysham”.

Nearby residents objected to the store saying it would be noisy and there was already a Co-op in Heysham but planners gave it the go-ahead.