SHOPPERS are eagerly awaiting the opening of a long-awaited new Tesco Extra store in Yate next week.

The supermarket, in Yate Shopping Centre, will open its doors at 8am on Monday after 10 years of planning and litigation.

New store manager Mark Keirle said: “We are all really excited and cannot wait for opening day.

“We hope the residents of Yate and the surrounding areas will be very happy with their new store.”

The 24-hour store has been built on stilts offering car parking underneath. As well as groceries and household items, it will sell non-food such as clothing, homeware, home entertainment, electricals and toys. There will also be a phone shop, pharmacy, café, a Regis beauty salon and a Virgin Holidays shop.

Final figures show 3,700 people applied for just 230 new positions at the 110,00 square feet store.

In total, the supermarket will employ 495 people, including the new Tesco recruits and some internal Tesco transfers, as well as staff who worked at the 30-year-old Tesco supermarket which was demolished earlier this year.

Mr Keirle said: “The store is very large, so the recruitment has been a long process which started back in August.

“We have had many positions to fill, but have certainly been spoiled with the number of applications. We have nearly completed recruitment, and will look to employ just under 500 people at our new store. The standard of applications has been very high.”

He said the firm, the country’s largest retailer, had worked closely with the Yate Jobcentre Plus and Remploy, which helps people with disabilities get back into work.

A temporary suprmarket in the shopping centre car park closed on Sunday and is being deconstructed this week. Tesco is operating a free bus for customers to travel to its Thornbury store all this week.

Building work on four new retail units, two of which are expected to be occupied by Marks and Spencer, will begin after Christmas.

The store will be open at 12.01am every Monday and will remain open until midnight on Saturdays. On Sundays 10am-4pm.

BUS passengers left out in the cold and wet at Yate’s recently opened bus station should soon be able to stay warm and dry.

A saga over a canopy that failed to give any protection is coming to a close, with the imminent arrival of a new shelter.

The bus station opened earlier this year as part of the major scheme to upgrade the town’s shopping centre and build a new Tesco store.

Tesco said it had discussed various options with South Gloucestershire planners before the station was built and the canopy structure was in line with what was approved by the planning committee.

But it attracted criticism as soon as it was opened because the canopy that was meant to give shelter to passengers did not work. There were also complaints it was unlit and had no seats for elderly or disabled people to use, only a few benches.

Town councillors said it was “useless” and claimed the station was a fiasco, leading to talks between Yate and South Gloucestershire councils, bus operator First, Tesco and the shopping centre owners.

New plans were drawn up and a new shelter has been made, which will be assembled on site underneath the canopy.

Town councillor Ian Blair, who opened the bus station as he was mayor at the time, said: “The new shelter will be quite big and have seats for people while they wait. The problems shouldn’t have happened in the first place. The canopy that was put up initially will remain and the new shelter will go under it.”

AFTER months of waiting shoppers in Yate have finally got to see inside the town’s new Tesco extra store.

The new supermarket, which has taken eight months to build, opened its doors for the first time this morning, Monday, October 24.

Mark Keirle, manager of the new 24-hour store, said: “We’ve had a fantastic response and a great turn out straight away. Both staff and customers are pleased with the new store.”

More than 30 shoppers queued outside for the opening, which included a visit from rugby star Jason Robinson OBE who cut a ribbon and signed rugby balls for fans.

The new Tesco extra store is almost four times the size of its predecessor and has created 230 new jobs in the town.

To mark the opening Tesco donated £1,000 to both St Peter’s Hospice and the Yate branch of the British Heart Foundation.

Sportsdirect.com the UK’s number one sports retailer, are opening a brand new store in East Walk, Yate, BS37 4AS on 27th April. Founded in 1982 the company is now the UK’s largest sporting retailer with over 400 stores nationwide.

Sportsdirect.com is devoted to offering the biggest brands in sportswear, footwear and sports equipment at guaranteed low prices. Catering for all the family, they have an enormous range of stock from leading brands such as Nike, Adidas, Lonsdale, Puma and Dunlop.

This store will showcase the latest brands at the best prices and will also include expert areas such as “She Runs He Runs” which specialises in all running needs, Field & Trek which is the specialist outdoor area, soccer scene for football lovers , bigbikechain.com to help you decide which bike to buy and European Golf with a full range of clubs and golfing accessories.  Perfect for any sport enthusiast!

A spokesperson for Sportsdirect.com said: “We are delighted to be opening our brand new store in East Walk. As our company continues to grow throughout the UK, our ethos has never changed in that we offer our customers the biggest brands in all types of sportswear, footwear and sports equipment at low prices.”