A CITY centre supermarket is closing as part of a national deal which will see it re-opening next month under new ownership.

Safeway, in Durham's Millburngate Shopping Centre, is scheduled to close today, at 6pm.

Shoppers have noticed a gradual dwindling of stock recently, prior to the close of trading.

The supermarket transformed in the middle of next month under the Waitrose banner.

The southern supermarket chain bought the Durham premises as part of a five-store deal with Morrisons, which also included sites in Cheshire, London and two in Sussex.

Waitrose marketing director Christian Cull said the company has sought a presence in the North-East "for some time".

The Durham store will be Waitrose's most northerly outlet, a title until now held by its premises in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

Mr Cull said: "It's not a secret that we want to be in parts of the country that we are not already in.

"If we find the right location in other parts of the country, then we will certainly be interested.

"We're thrilled to be coming to the North-East, we've wanted this for a long time."

Waitrose, part of the John Lewis partnership, has acquired a reputation for selling high-quality food, stocking around 1,000 organic products, 50 types of fish and other seafood, plus more than 100 cheeses.

News of the transfer of ownership brought relief to Durham MP Roberta Blackman-Woods, who campaigned to preserve a city centre supermarket, amid fears it would close altogether.

The store is well used by Durham's large student population.

All 92 Safeway employees in Durham were told they would be offered jobs by Waitrose at the time the deal was announced, in August.

The Durham store is one of a number being sold by Morrisons since it paid £3bn for Safeway.

It is trimming the number of outlets under its ownership from 600 to a targeted 360 by December.