Co-op foodstore could be first part of £10m care village for Norfolk town
Plans for the care village including care home and foodstore. Picture: CAM Architects/ Broadland council planning documents - Credit: Archant
A Co-op foodstore is coming to a mid Norfolk town as part of plans to build a £10m care village.
Plans for the village at the end of a former railway line in Reepham were approved by Broadland councillors in January 2019.
And Central England Co-operative Ltd has applied to Broadland council for a new premises licence to sell alcohol at the new store in Stony Lane, with opening hours from 6am to 10pm, Monday to Sunday.
The Co-op would not confirm that it was moving onto the site but Reepham Town Council chairman Les Paterson said: "I expect the Co-op store to be built in the next few months. There is a revised planning application for the store which will be discussed at the next town council meeting, but they've just altered the design and added a secure area. None of the care village has been built yet."
A spokesman for Central England Co-op said: "As a society, we are always looking for exciting opportunities to open new food stores for the benefit of our members and customers.
"As part of this work we have to begin planning for potential sites months, sometimes years, before a decision to proceed or not to proceed even takes place.
"However, we do promise with any potential new store that our loyal members and customers will be first to know when we have any updates to share."
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A joint application for the care village on land at Station Road, close to Marriott's Way, was submitted to Broadland by developers, care providers and Co-op in June 2018.
The application included a 60-bedroom care home, a foodstore and a mixture of assisted living homes.
At the planning meeting in January 2019, the proposals came under severe scrutiny from a number of the committee members, as the plans went against the site's proposed use in the council's local plan.
However, councillors were told the project would create 150 new jobs across the care facilities, food store and offices.
The plans will also see Stony Lane widened, trees along it cut back and several other trees removed.
