Christmas opening hope for new store
A new supermarket which will open on the site of a former bingo hall in Wolverhampton could be welcoming customers by Christmas, it has been revealed.
A new supermarket which will open on the site of a former bingo hall in Wolverhampton could be welcoming customers by Christmas, it has been revealed.
Work on the revamp of the former Mecca building, which stands alongside the Wednesfield Way bypass near Bentley Bridge retail park, has now started and developers say the scheme, which also includes a gym and pet shop, will create 55 jobs.
The building has been an eyesore and boarded up for the last nine years after being plagued by vandals and travellers.The bingo hall will be split into two to accommodate the supermarket and gym. Aldi is behind the foodstore while Pure Gym will take on the health and fitness site. Another unit will be for Just for Pets.
Simon Berry from Life Property, which is behind the scheme, said: "The finished development will create about 55 jobs for the local community.
"It will see the old bingo unit brought back to life, having been empty and derelict for nine years. The scheme will open in part before Christmas and part after."
Jonathan Neale, property director for Aldi said, today: "The purchase of the store is a result of Aldi's national expansion strategy and will create a number of employment opportunities for the local area.
"Work on site is currently under way and we expect the new 1,125sqm store to be open in time for Christmas."
The gym will create up to 12 jobs and has been taken on a 15-year lease.
It will be staffed from 8am to 8pm, but be open 24 hours a day, with people allowed to clock themselves in at any time. CCTV will switched on around the clock to keep an eye on people coming and going.
Peter Roberts, Pure Gym's chief executive said: "Bentley Bridge is an ideal site as, in addition to the already large footfall, it is near major regional employers such as New Cross Hospital and some 200,000 people live within a 10-minute drive."
Life Property Ltd won the unanimous backing of the council's planning committee in turning the three-acre site into a thriving leisure and retail development.
