Tesco at Chatteris should open in the first months of 2015 according to two Cambridgeshire County Councillors who were at the site today to get answers on the future of the £22 million store.

Councillors Sandra Rylance and David Connor met with Liz Dent of Dentam Williams of the development company and Darren Claton of Carter building contractors. who assured them that the site is to be signed over next week to Tesco.

In a statement released to the press today (Thursday 25) the pair revealed that: “We are given to understand that Tesco’s can no longer get the store fitted out in time for Christmas but that all the fittings are on order and will be fitted.

“Tesco should be in a position to open the store in the first few months of 2015.

“We have been down and looked at the underpass which will have CCTV cameras working and connected to the monitoring station 24 seven by next week, the lighting in the underpass is as vandal proof as modern technology can make it and everything is graffiti proof.

“The children’s play park in Larham way will be fenced, levelled and reseeded with grass and a new gate fitted by the end of next week.

“The store car park will be boarded up all round which is normal procedure whilst a store is being fitted so there will be no access to members of the public.

“The cycle path will be completed.

“The roundabout has already been widened but will continue to be monitored for the next 12 months by the developers.

“We hope this will help to clarify the situation and allay some of the fears circulating in the town at present.”

The 47,000 square feet Chatteris store – which was due to open in November with the prospect of 250 jobs- is to be mothballed and temporarily boarded up until the store is fitted out and completed.

The company dropped the bombshell at the weekend – just weeks after it appointed a new chief executive Dave Lewis to stem falling profits.

Bryn Woodward, Tesco corporate affairs manager, said: “After careful consideration we have decided to delay the opening of our new store in town.”

ON the Chatteris Shape Your Place website this week Ms Dent said: “In response to the various comments and the recent press coverage which perhaps hasn’t been reported accurately, we feel that there has been a lot of misinterpretation of the true situation.

“Further to the response by Fenland District Council, Tesco have not pulled out of the development at all, they have merely delayed the opening, I’m sure Tesco will announce shortly when the opening is likely to be.”