WORK is underway in Wimpole Road, Colchester, to create a new food store for the East of England Co-operative Society.

The store will have a sales area of around 3,000 square feet and on-site parking with six two-bedroom flats, which will be available for rent, also being built above the shop.

The �2million project is expected to open in early spring 2011. The store will employ around 25 people andl sell a wide range of products including bakery, chilled frozen and fresh produce as well as a general selection of grocery items.

Richard Samson, chief executive of the East of England Co-operative Society. said: “This new store will provide a quality food store in a convenient location close to people’s homes and is part of our multi-million pound self-funded development programme across the region.”

R G Carter (Colchester) is undertaking the construction work and the society also employed a number of other local businesses to undertake the architectural, engineering, quantity surveying and mechanical and electrical designs for the project.

The Colchester scheme is part of a continuing programme of investment by the society in its retail business, which includes improving its existing stores as well as building and acquiring new ones.

Recent major supermarket and food store refurbishments across the region include a �1.5m project to improve the Halstead supermarket and a complete overhaul of the Fronks Road food store in Dovercourt that cost almost �1m.

Other East of England Co-op supermarkets at Burnham-on-Crouch, Frinton-on-Sea and Brightlingsea have also received improvements, each costing in excess of �1m, and an eco-friendly food store, with green Sedum roof, was opened in Hatfield Peverel at the end of last year.