A £1.5 million food store will officially open in Whittlesey on Thursday April 29, having created 12 jobs for the local area.

The 372sqm store in West End, which is Lincolnshire Co-operative Ltd’s first Cambridgeshire outlet, features a car park with 19 spaces.

The site of the store, just off the A605, fronting Finkle Lane, is the former Morley’s bus depot.

Cambs Times: Site of ?1.5m Lincolnshire Co-op convenience store in Whittlesey is off the A605, fronting Finkle Lane.Site of ?1.5m Lincolnshire Co-op convenience store in Whittlesey is off the A605, fronting Finkle Lane. (Image: ARCHANT)

In 2018, when the company submitted the planning application to Fenland Council, they also submitted a heritage assessment because it is within the conservation area of the town.

At the time, the Co-op said the store will “positively enhance” the conservation area and is unlikely to impact on other retailers in the town.

They also said then that they had spoken to the county council who, without prejudice to the application, confirmed the scheme was acceptable.

It will stock goods from 60 local producers, including beverages from Fenspirits and Elgood’s Brewery, both based in Wisbech, and sausages, pork pies and scotch eggs by Grasmere Farm, based in Deeping St James.

Cambs Times: The site of the ?1.5m Lincolnshire Co-op convenience store in Whittlesey is off the A605, fronting Finkle Lane.The site of the ?1.5m Lincolnshire Co-op convenience store in Whittlesey is off the A605, fronting Finkle Lane. (Image: ARCHANT)

Whittlesey Community First Responders will be the first group to benefit from the Co-op's fundraising ‘community champions scheme’.

There will also be a collection point in the store for donations to Whittlesey Emergency Food Aid, the local food bank.

There will be social distancing measures in store, including a limit on the number of customers shopping at one time, markings on the floor showing two metre distances, till screens and a sanitising station.

The store will open from 7am until 10pm, seven days a week.