Shops closing to make way for superstore

Two stores on a Telford retail park will close with the loss of dozens of jobs to make way for the county's first Asda Living store which will create 80 posts, it was revealed today.

Netto and In-Store on Wrekin Retail Park, Telford, will close to allow the retail park owners Legal and General to knock the two units into one for the new Asda Living superstore.

The new store will be opened by the middle of next year. The Netto store is due to close on May 31.

One devastated Netto worker, who did not want to be named, said: "Everyone is very distressed."

A spokesman for Netto said: "It is with regret that the Netto supermarket on Wrekin Retail Park in Telford will close on May 31.

"We have informed colleagues their jobs are at risk of redundancy and will do everything we can to minimise the impact of the store closure."

Chris Marlow, property communications manager for Asda, said: "We are looking forward to opening the store in the middle of next year which will create around 80 job opportunities."

Meanwhile, supermarket giant Tesco is considering whether to move to a new site in Whitchurch or expand its existing store at White Lion Meadow.

Felix Gummer, Tesco regional corporate affairs manager for Wales and the west of England, said: "The Whitchurch store is trading very well but we always look at options, which could be the expansion of the site we have or a new store elsewhere."