£50m revamp for Hednesford as it defies slump

But while many welcome the "long-awaited" developments in their town centre, there are a few who view it all with apprehension. Building work is gathering pace at Victoria Shopping Park, where a large Tesco store will open alongside a line of other new shops this December.

Down Market Street, work is also well under way on an Aldi store alongside the already-open Hednesford Bingo as part of the overall Chase Gateway regeneration project by St Modwen.

The scheme, which surrounds the town's existing line of shops, includes a 10,000 sq ft community ballroom and more than 800 car parking spaces.

"We have to embrace the new developments," Simon Orme, chairman of Hednesford Traders' Association 2011 and owner of SOS Hairdressing in the town, said.

"We are in a good position because the new Tesco and related shops are being built in the town centre – it's now up to us, the traders, to try to tap into the extra people who will come to the area.

"We realise it can be very hard to compete against a big supermarket, but we have to be active, work hard and find niche products which will still draw customers to our businesses.

"After that, it's a waiting game to see how the new shops will impact us," Mr Orme added.

The traders' association has been running self-supporting schemes like the Hednesford Lotto, and a newsletter called The Hednesford Herald has recently been launched in partnership with the town council.

Tesco will provide the anchor store for the Victoria Shopping Park and will open first in December, followed by other shops in the centre.

The superstore, which will be 80,000 sq ft in size, attracted more than 500 applications for the 140 jobs advertised.

The firm has said 100 vacancies are for the area's long-term unemployed. The new recruits have already started a six-week pre-employment training course with the store.

Cannock Chase Council has put out a tender for the ballroom and hopes to find an operator for planned opening in the New Year.

The ballroom, which comes 60 years after the town's Aquarius closed its doors, will be host to community events such as dance classes and shows.

Aldi is also expected to open in the New Year.

The supermarket will have 121 parking spaces at the Chase Gateway site. These spaces will only be available for 90 minutes.

A 65-space car park will be at Victoria Shopping Park.

A remaining 44-space car park has been left for users of Hednesford Bingo, in Victoria Street.

Cannock Chase Council leader George Adamson said: "The developments will give Hednesford a new lease of life.

"The town was once the hub of the district, ahead of Cannock, but times changed – this will revitalise the town and put it on the map once again."