Central England Co-op invests £1.5 million in new sites across Yorkshire

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 03/11/2017


Central England Co-operative has revealed it has invested over £1.5 million as part of on-going efforts to improve the experience of customers across Yorkshire.

The Society has opened four brand new food stores and revamped another - creating dozens of jobs and spending £1,720,000 in the process during 2017.

Members and customers have already been flocking to the new-look sites in Wooldale Road, Holmfirth, Holmfirth Road, New Mill, Springwood Road, Thongsbridge, and High Street, Dodworth, to take a closer look at the new fixtures and fittings including the latest in pioneering new energy efficient refrigeration technologies to minimise environmental impact and LED lighting.

Other sites to have received investment include the petrol station and food store in Halifax Road, Birchencliffe, which was rebuilt after the former store was left badly damaged by a fire in the middle of 2016.

The work in Yorkshire is part of an ambitious food store and funeral home development programme for 2017, with further investment planned in the area throughout 2017 and into 2018.

Ian Booth, New Mill Central England Co-operative Store Manager, said:  “Our teams were so excited to finally allow our members and customers to see our new-look stores with many different products and services available for everyone”.

 This came after Central England Co-operative and Wooldale Co-operative decided to join forces to strengthen the local offering for Wooldale Co-operative customers and members. 

A new store in Dodworth was made possible after the Society purchased a former Budgens store. All 22 members of staff were given extensive training before the site reopened.

The four new-look food stores were opened with a Golden Ticket Giveaway that saw customers win prizes ranging from new televisions to Co-op vouchers.

Customers and members are also now able to enjoy a range of community benefits as a result of the Society’s investment in Yorkshire.

Last year, thousands of pounds were handed out to groups in the area from Central England Co-operative’s Community Dividend Fund. A total of 89 groups have shared £160,000 during 2016 so far.

The fund guarantees that at least one per cent of the Society’s trading profit is reinvested in local communities in a bid to help projects to thrive across its trading area.

Martyn Cheatle, Chief Executive of Central England Co-operative, said: “The Community Dividend reflects a key principle of our society, in that we reward the loyalty of our customers by investing in and supporting local communities.

“The scheme helps to benefit a wide variety of projects, with grants between £100 to a £5,000, which will make the communities that we serve a better place for our members to live, work and visit.”

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time they spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund.

Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop

Notes to editors

Photo caption: Colleagues celebrate the opening of Central England Co-op stores across Yorkshire.

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with gross sales of £927 million in 2016/17. The Society’s principal areas of activity are food, funeral services, and property investment. Central England Co-operative has over 400 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2017.

Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including Dementia UK and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.

Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop

For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative

Rob Smyth / Heather Clapton at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140

Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop