Waitrose will close their Alderley Edge branch and car park for 11 days before unveiling their new look store on Thursday 12th June.
A phased programme of works has already begun to extend the branch, and it will close from 8pm on Saturday 31st May until it re-opens 12 days later.
The retailer agreed to acquire the former Co-op unit on The Parade in January this year, and will be extending the existing branch to provide customers with an improved Waitrose offer, including a bakery service counter and hundreds of new products.
The new Alderley Edge sales floor will be more than double the size of the existing Waitrose and will accommodate a wider selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as the inclusion of local produce.
The shop will be run by a team of over 100 Partners, including the existing Co-op and Waitrose employees and over 45 new members of staff. Waitrose received over 200 applications for the vacancies, which were advertised earlier this year.
Gareth Hind, opening branch manager for Waitrose Alderley Edge said: "We are excited about re-opening the new branch in Alderley Edge, which will provide our existing customers with an even better offer. The new shop has created over 45 new jobs and as well as doubling our contributions via the Community Matters scheme to £1,000 per month, 250 staff working hours will be donated by Partners to local projects and causes every year.
"In order to improve our current offer in Alderley Edge, it will be necessary to close the car park from the 31st May until re-opening, to carry out the works in a safe manner. We appreciate the patience of local residents and businesses during the refurbishment period, and hope the new branch will attract even more shoppers to the area."
Alderley Edge Parish Council are requesting that Chorley Hall playing fields be used as a free temporary car park during this period to help alleviate the parking chaos and drop in footfall which many traders fear will happen as a result of The Parade's closure.
Comments
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Utilise the Festival Hall for parking, just drop the permit holders only nonsense for 11 days and use parking spaces that are already available.
Cancel the Festival Hall "Permit-Holders-Only" scheme for the 11 days that extra parking space is required in the Village.
In fact, cancel the Festival Hall "Permit-Holders-Only" scheme PERMANENTLY and lets get back to having proper parking spaces available to everyone in the village.