First glimpse inside £60m Wolverhampton Sainsbury's

Wolverhampton's new £60 million Sainsbury's store is almost complete and ready to welcome customers.

The shop on Raglan Street, off the city's ring road, is scheduled to open on July 9 at 9am.

The 72,500sq ft supermarket, being branded the St Mark's store, will replace the company's existing supermarket in St George's Parade, which will close on July 8.

The new store will house a cafe, various food counters and homewares, electrical and clothing sections. The site will also contain a 700-space car park, a 15,000 sq ft gym, a recycling centre, an Explore Learning centre for children and a petrol station, which will open on June 30.

Store manager Paul Percox said: "With only three weeks to go, it is a really exciting time.

"We can't wait to open the doors to the people of Wolverhampton and offer them the full Sainsbury's shopping experience."

He added: "For many years we haven't had a great supermarket in the city and now we are going to have one."

Diggers and construction workers remain on-site as work progresses through the final stages.

The areas outside the store and petrol station still need resurfacing and landscaping, and fences will be erected around the site.

Cedar timber cladding will also be fixed to the outside of the store itself and the building's steelwork will be painted. Work is expected to end on June 30, with the following 10 days to be spent stocking the shelves.

The store will employ some 450 staff, including around 200 from the company's St George's Parade supermarket and around 250 new recruits.

Mr Percox said: "The big thing for me is the excitement of working with so many new colleagues we have recruited locally.

"The management team are very experienced and they are looking forward to that as well.

"We've got a nice mix of experience from the old store and exuberance from the new recruits."

Work began at the site in October 2012, but was halted after just 10 weeks because of legal issues, as rival supermarket giant Tesco owned the land at the time.

Construction resumed in October last year and will have taken 35 weeks since then to complete if the store opens on time.

Project manager Nick Alston said: "The contractors are fully focussed and plans are in place.

"They will be working to make sure everything is done on time.

"We have opened many stores with these contractors so we are confident they will deliver." To support the development, Sainsbury's has funded roadworks on Ring Road St Mark's, Chapel Ash and Great Brickkiln Street.

Peter Bilson, Wolverhampton City Council's regeneration boss, said the opening would be a 'shot in the arm' for the city's economy.

He said: "This is very exciting news.

"The new store represents a significant investment by Sainsbury's and has seen the creation of hundreds of new jobs.

"It will also provide a shot in the arm for Wolverhampton's economy. Sainsbury's have worked quickly and efficiently since starting work in October to get the new store and associated road works completed for this summer.

"We are fully committed to regenerating Wolverhampton, attracting further inward investment and increasing prosperity across the city.

"This is one step in helping us achieve this."

The supermarket will hold a taster day at the Wulfrun Shopping Centre in Cleveland Street on Saturday from 10am to 4pm.