Pub giant JD Wetherspoon has bought a former Market Drayton supermarket as part of a £1 million plan to develop the chain in the county.

The company, which has venues across Shropshire, has bought the former Kwik Save site on Queen Street for an undisclosed sum and the development will bring 40 new jobs to the town.

JD Wetherspoon spokesman, Eddie Gershon, today confirmed the sale had now gone ahead following advanced negotiations and a preliminary application has been submitted to district planning chiefs.

He said: “The sale has now been completed and now it’s just a case of getting planning permission and sorting out the licensing.

“It’s good news and everything is moving forward.”

The supermarket shut last March with the loss of 11 jobs and the building, which was previously Market Drayton’s cinema, was put up for sale.

The company previously confirmed they were looking at a development cost of around £1 million and would create around 40 full and part-time jobs.

Mr Gershon said they had hundreds of pubs in different parts of the UK from large cities to smaller market towns and wanted to be represented in busy areas.

The planning application will eventually go to North Shropshire District Council’s development control committee.