Store giant on track for opening

This picture shows Ellesmere's brand new Tesco store taking shape ready to open this summer.

The supermarket, on the town's Wharf development, is due to open in August, creating a total of 140 jobs.

The Wharf site will also see housing, a creche, restaurant, nursing home and brand new medical centre built.

Felix Gummer, Tesco spokesman, said the store was on track to open its doors at the beginning of August and a grand opening ceremony would be arranged closer to the time.

He said the store had created a total of 140 full and part-time vacancies and bosses were recruiting staff through Jobcentre Plus.

"It's predominantly food goods and a small amount of non-food items like health and beauty and some entertainment. And there will be a grand opening organised," he said.

"We are very excited and we are on course to be open in time for the middle of summer which is fantastic."

Lincoln McMullan, chairman of Ellesmere's Chamber of Commerce, said he was excited about the store opening because he hoped it might bring more business into Ellesmere.

He added: "We are delighted to have a supermarket in the town and hope it will bring more business to the rest of the shops in the town.

We are delighted they are on time and able to open early because these days a lot of companies promise things and then don't open. We are really looking forward to it and we know the people of the town are looking forward to it because then we won't have to travel out of Ellesmere to do shopping.

"We hope people that come to use Tesco will have a wander through the town and visit our clothes and gift shops too.

"We hope a lot of the new jobs will be given to people from Ellesmere, but obviously if they are not then it's bringing more people here who might hopefully go into town on their lunch break and spend money," he said.

Mr McMullan added Tesco had sponsored a new statue of Save the Children founder Eglantyne Jebb in the town to commemorate the charity's 90th anniversary and thanked the store chain for its support and generosity.