Hundreds of shoppers were welcomed through the doors of the new £3m Co-op food store in Bishop’s Itchington at the official opening on Saturday, July 20.

The purpose-built Heart of England Co-op in Gaydon Road is more than twice the size of the one it is replacing and is the most environmentally friendly of all its 37 stores.

More jobs have also been created with staff numbers now totalling 17 compared with nine at the old store.

Customers who arrived on the day were treated to free Costa coffee and toasted crumpets served directly from a Warburtons van. Face painting and bucket drumming sessions were also laid on for families to enjoy.

Pupils from Bishop's Itchington Primary School took part in the launch ceremony.

placeholder image — Pupils from Bishop's Itchington Primary School took part in the launch ceremony.

Steve Browne, general manager of the Heart of England Co-op’s food division, was delighted with the customer feedback.

“The public reaction was very positive and most encouraging,” he said. “We now have a 3,000 sq ft sales floor compared with 1,300 sq ft at our old premises. Having that much extra space at our disposal has enabled us to massively increase our offering in the village.

“It really is a vast improvement with just about everything being either greener, bigger or better. Apart from a fantastic range of meat, dairy and grocery products, we have been able to significantly increase our selection of frozen food, chilled food and chilled alcohol.”

Outside customers will discover a much larger car park with rapid electric car charging points and parking bays for the disabled. The entire area is protected by security lighting and CCTV.

Store manager Tim Smedley pictured during the official opening.

Heart of England Co-op’s chief executive Ali Kurji said he is particularly proud of the store’s impressive green credentials.

“The environment is a massive consideration to us. This store will run off solar power with no natural gas being used at all. We have invested in solar panels at 20 of our other stores and at our support centre in Coventry. The results have surpassed our expectations. This will be a very energy efficient store with refrigeration and ventilation systems using low GWP (Global Warming Potential) gasses which have minimal impact on the planet.

“So many decisions have been made with the environment in mind. Apart from the infrastructure, the green touches even extend to many of the products we choose. Great use has been made of recyclable materials.”

To mark the official opening, pupils from Bishop’s Itchington Primary School were invited to take part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony. At the same time, the school received a £500 donation from the Heart of England Co-op’s Helping Hearts scheme.

The impressive exterior of the new Co-op store.

The Carl Lewis Foundation was also handed £500, while the Bishop Itchington’s football and cricket teams were given £345 each. A collection was made during the day for Macmillan Cancer Support, the Heart of England Co-op’s current corporate charity.

A commercial rental unit has been built next to the new store which will create additional jobs. Discussions are taking place with potential tenants. The former Co-op premises in Chapel Street are being sold complete with planning permission for a residential conversion.

The Bishop’s Itchington Co-op will open seven days a week from 7am to 10pm.