Opening of £20m store is delayed

The £20m Tesco store on the former Hugh Mackay carpet factory at Dragonville, Durham, was expected to open this week.

The company is now hoping that the store, which will employ 400 people, will admit its first customers at the end of the month.

Tesco has had to carry out alterations and improvements to roads, including new traffic light junctions, to cope with the extra traffic that the supermarket will generate.

The site is close to an industrial estate which already generates a lot of traffic, and residents in the area are concerned about the impact the development will have.

Tesco formed the Dragonville Regeneration Partnership, whose members include Durham City and Durham County councils, as part of the development. The area has the highest unemployment in the Durham City area.

About half of the staff have been recruited from the ranks of the local long-term unemployed, who have been on a training course which guarantees a job if they prove their worth.

The company pioneered a similar scheme when it opened a supermarket in Leeds.

A spokeswoman for Tesco said: "The opening has been put back and we haven't got a firm date yet, but we are hoping that it will be towards the end of the month.

"Basically, we have had difficulties with the roads around the area. We were required by the council to carry out alterations.

"We could have opened the store before then, but we want everything to be right. There was quite a bit to be done.

"Our contractors are working around the clock and at weekends to get the job done.

"We are hoping that within the next couple of weeks we will be able to announce a firm date for the opening of the store."

Residents are concerned that possible future developments in the area could make the new alterations obsolete.

They and Belmont Parish Council are calling on the city and county councils to draw up a strategy for growth that includes improvement to the infrastructure