Supermarket set for approval

A plan to open a new supermarket in the city looks set to be approved next week.

Budget frozen food chain Farmfoods put forward proposals which would see a new supermarket open in an empty unit in Shrub Hill Retail Park off George Street in Worcester last year.

Worcester City Council’s planning committee meets next Thursday to make a decision on the scheme with a recommendation from the council’s own planning officers that it is given the green light.

Opening the supermarket would bring around 20 new jobs to the city according to the application.

In a report, due to be discussed by councillors at a meeting in the Guildhall on January 27, said Shrub Hill Retail Park and the surrounding area has been earmarked in the council’s masterplan as potential land for housing in the future but the application should still be backed.

The unit in the city centre retail park has been empty since stationery suppliers Office Outlet closed in early 2019 after the company went into administration.

The store was previously home to Staples but was rebranded in 2017.

The proposed opening hours are 7am and 10pm from Monday to Saturday and 10am to 6pm on Sunday.

If the plans are approved, Farmfoods would join Majestic Wine, Home Bargains, Just for Pets, Wickes and Subway in the retail park.

A number of stores have closed on the retail park in recent years and remain empty.

The city’s only Pizza Hut restaurant closed in 2020 alongside Carphone Warehouse and Blockbuster shut its doors several years ago.

A statement included with the application said: “Farmfoods are a family-owned retailer with a long history of successful trading. They do this by close attention to cost and efficiency.

“New stores create jobs and provide access to low-priced groceries to the benefit of those on a more limited budget.

“The premises on the Shrub Hill Retail Park satisfy Farmfoods’ requirement and once open will provide customer choice along with a range of approximately 20 jobs, both full and part time.

“It is the first store in Worcester which we have found in over 20 years of searching which is viable, available and suitable.”