Waitrose on the way to Abergavenny (From Free Press Series)

Waitrose on the way to Abergavenny

WAITROSE are coming to Abergavenny - but not in the town centre. Instead they have bought the Safeway store on the outskirts.

There was speculation over what would happen to the store once Morrisons bought the Safeway chain, because they were precluded from operating at Llanfoist.

Now Waitrose have announced they have bought 19 of the 52 Safeway stores Morrisons have to sell, and there will be no job losses, as staff will be offered jobs with Waitrose, and the chance to become partners in the business.

Waitrose wanted to build a foodstore in Abergavenny town centre, on the Brewery Yard site behind the Market Hall, but their scheme was rejected by Monmouthshire County Council in favour of redeveloping the cattle market site with a new foodstore.

Gill Smith, press officer for Waitrose said: "We had been looking for a site in Abergavenny for several years and we chose the Safeway building in preference to other sites in Abergavenny as it gives us the chance to establish ourselves in the area relatively quickly."

She said, subject to approval from the Office of Fair Trading, they hoped to take over Safeway at Llanfoist before the end of the year, but in the meantime it will continue to trade as Safeway.

The news was greeted with delight by Abergavenny councillor Chris Woodhouse who said he was glad quality food would remain at the Llanfoist store, still giving shoppers a choice. But he added: "I would rather they came to the town centre instead."

David Brancher, secretary of the Abergavenny Development Forum said: "The news will be welcome to an increasing number of Abergavenny people who are driving to Monmouth to shop in Waitrose. It is good news for the employees who will become partners in John Lewis and it will be welcomed by local food producers.

"But it is bad news for the regeneration of Abergavenny town centre. If the planners had acted four years ago then we would have Waitrose on the Brewery Yard site, the Market Hall would be refurbished and the market traders would be better off."

The local member for Llanfoist, Cllr Andre Arkell said: "We have the out-of-town store and we have to live with that but it's good that a quality retailer will step into Safeway shoes."

He said the change would not detract from the viability of the town centre development because the need for another food outlet had already been established.