Central England Co-operative officially opens its new store in Tamworth following an investment of almost £600k and the creation of more than 20 new jobs

Posted by james brindle | Published: 29/11/2019

Central England Co-op has officially opened its new store in Tamworth – creating more than 20 new jobs and investing over £600,000 in the area.

The Food Store, which is based in Brooklime Way, off Ashby Road offers shoppers an expansive range of products and is fitted out with pioneering new energy efficient refrigeration technologies and LED lighting to minimise environmental impact. The store also includes a free water refill station and a phone charging area.

To mark the opening in Tamworth, colleagues were joined by children and staff from nearby Ashcroft Infant and Nursery School to cut the ribbon.

Children from the school produced a special piece of artwork celebrating the town’s famous castle and gardens, which is featured on the outside of the new store giving the children the chance to see their work every time they visit.

Store Manager Paul Murray said: “It was fantastic to be able to welcome Ashcroft Infant and Nursery School to be our guests of honour at the opening of our brand new store and to see their fantastic artwork recreated on the store.

“All of us here at Brooklime Way are proud to be part of such a great community in Tamworth and are delighted to welcome everyone to come and enjoy our new store.

“I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank local residents for their patience. It has been long-awaited, but hopefully everyone will enjoy the store as much as we do.”

Jayne Fellows, head teacher at Ashcroft Infant and Nursery School, said: “We were delighted to be asked to cut the ribbon on the new Central England Co-op store in Tamworth and particularly thrilled that the children were asked to produce artwork to be part of the design.

“The children had a great time completing the project and have been so excited to come down and have a tour around the store and see their work proudly displayed.”

As an extra launch celebration, several lucky shoppers who attended on the opening day were presented at random with a golden ticket which included free entry tickets to Drayton Manor Park’s Magical Christmas event.

Paul added: “It was great fun to be able to surprise some of our opening day shoppers with entry tickets to Drayton Manor Park’s Magical Christmas as a festive treat.

“Hopefully we helped create a special day for some of our new customers and I would like to thank Drayton Manor Park for teaming up with us on this great giveaway.”

The Brooklime Way Co-operative Food Store is open from 7am to 10pm, Monday to Sunday. The store offers a wide range of products from everyday necessities to something a little more special.

The store offer includes fresh and local fruit and vegetables, an in-store bakery offering breads and pastries, chilled beers and wines, fresh and frozen product, Irresistible product ranges, and a great selection of food to go.

It also offers Lottery, Paypoint, Collect Plus and foreign currency, as well as a Costa Coffee machine, free customer car park, customer seating areas inside and outside the store, customer toilets and a free cash machine.

Customers can also support local good causes as a specialist collection point has been installed for Tamworth Food Bank who were presented with £25 in vouchers by the store manager to mark the opening.

Notes to editors.

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 the Society’s principal areas of activity being food, funeral services, travel shops, 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 2019.

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 and James Brindle at Central England Co-operative on 01543 421390

Email – publicrelations@centralengland.coop