New foodstore for Witham St Hughs
Residents living in Witham St Hughs will benefit from a new Lincolnshire Co-operative foodstore, set to open this summer.
Planning permission has been granted by North Kesteven District Council for a foodstore in the village centre, next to the school. The Society has signed a lease with developers Strawsons Property on the unit.
The contract is currently out to tender and it is hoped work will start on site in February. After the unit is built, Lincolnshire Co-op’s development team will fit it out, investing £300,000 in the building.
When it opens, the foodstore will provide a wide range of groceries, including fruit and vegetables, beer, wine and spirits, frozen and chilled items and newspapers.
It will also sell meat sourced from the local area as part of the award-winning Lincolnshire Quality scheme and items from the Local Choice range, which includes jam made in Lincoln and beer brewed near Newark.
Fridges and freezers in the foodstore will be energy efficient and low-energy lights will be used. The warehouse areas will have motion sensors to ensure lights are never on full power when they don’t need to be.
People in Witham St Hughs will be able to sign up to be Lincolnshire Co-operative members. The Society is owned by its members and shares its profits with them in different ways, including by paying dividend on purchases and giving community dividend to local good causes.
The new store will employ between 12 to 15 local people, in a mixture of full and part time posts.
Lincolnshire Co-op’s Chief Executive Ursula Lidbetter said: “We are delighted to be opening a new store in Witham St Hughs. We’re going to provide the community with a quality foodstore featuring a wide range of facilities and we hope we will welcome many new members to the Society.”
