SWAFFHAM: New Tesco store gets planning thumbs-up
10 March 2013
Construction is set to start later this year on the new Tesco supermarket at Swaffham after completion of the planning process.
The retail giant has announced that planning consent has been formally issued by Breckland Council after the signing of legal agreements.
The supermarket, which will be of similar size to Fakenham’s Tesco store, will be at the other end of the EcoTech Business Park to the Waitrose store and create about 150 new full and part-time jobs.
In July, Breckland Council’s planning committee agreed to allow the new supermarket to be built on a three-acre site on the business park, off Castle Acre Road, subject to completion of a number of legal agreements.
With that hurdle now out of the way, Tesco is looking to start the building work, which would take six to eight months, later this year ready to open the store next year.
Tony Sweeney, managing director of Millngate, developer of the supermarket, said: “The substantial construction cost of the new store and the highway improvements will bring much-needed added investment into the town.”
Simon Petar, Tesco’s corporate affairs manager, said: “This is a great step forward and we look forward to seeing work begin in the coming months.
“We want to create approximately 150 jobs for local people and serve local customers.”