9:20am Wednesday 10th February 2010
By Ron Godfrey
A HUGE extension being built at Sainsbury’s at Monks Cross, York, will generate 40 new jobs.
The supermarket chain today disclosed staff numbers there will increase to 440 once the multi-million-pound project to expand floor space from 53,000 sq ft to 74,000 sq ft is complete in July.
Work is being staggered to ensure there is as little disruption to shoppers as possible.
The restaurant will eventually be raised to a new mezzanine level and more products and new ranges will be introduced on the ground floor.
Other features will include more customer toilets and a reconfiguration of the checkout counters.
Outside, the car park is to be completely revamped.
Its two mini-roundabouts which caused rather than eased congestion are to be scrapped while entrances and exits will be made easier.
A spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s said: “The rows of bays are to be realigned to help shoppers find spaces more easily and there will be more disabled and parent/child spaces.
“We are also doubling the number of cycle parking spaces to 60.”
The scheme originally proposed a new access on to the site from Jockey Lane, but this has now been removed from the plans following objections from neighbouring businesses and residents.
The project was first announced in February last year when there was a public in-store exhibition and consultation, and 5,000 information leaflets with tear-off freepost feedback forms were sent out.
Sainsbury’s claimed that 90 per cent of those who responded were in favour.
The revamped store will make it of similar size to its rival neighbour, Asda, at the Monks Cross Shopping Park.
The new jobs will be a mixture of full and part-time and cover a range of positions. Recruitment should start in May.
Meanwhile, the new scheme begs the question – what will happen to Sainsbury’s second big store in York at Foss Bank?
There has been talk for years that Sainsbury’s might expand into the former neighbouring building of Homebase at Foss Bank, a site owned by the supermarket giant.
Morrisons has been built nearby and there is the prospect of a new Tesco in the offing in the city centre.
But the spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s said: “We are not planning to pull out of Foss Bank. For the moment, everything there is staying as it is.”
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