A NEW Co-operative supermarket in the Cotswolds has created 26 new jobs and taken on board new Post Office facilities.

The store, in Chipping Norton High Street has doubled in size and was opened at the launch by manager Adam Quinton with help from children from Holy Trinity School.

The new 15,300 square feet site features an additional 2,700 lines, will sell around 800 local products a year and includes specialist fish, meat and delicatessen counters, all manned by specially trained colleagues. A new community area takes pride of place at the front of the store, and will allow customers to interact with the Society by voting on which local community groups are supported, donating to the local food bank and sampling local products direct from the suppliers.

Brand new Post Office facilities with extended hours have also been introduced to the store, following its relocation from its previous site on the high street earlier in the month and an increase to 120 car parking spaces will make the facilities more accessible for the town’s residents.

The Co-operative Travel and Co-operative Pharmacy branches located on Chipping Norton High Street have also benefitted from a refurbishment.

Re-branded as The Co-operative Healthcare, the pharmacy will deliver a brand new healthcare concept that extends the traditional pharmacy offering, providing a wealth of healthcare services, as well as practical help and guidance.

The new store will also feature a free ‘Health Hub’ area, enabling customers to undertake a quick self-service health scan, measuring key factors including blood pressure, body fat percentage and heart rate.

Mr Quinton, said: “This is an extremely exciting time for us as we welcome our customers and members into the new look store. The changes we’ve made have come from their feedback, and we’re looking forward to local people seeing the changes that have been made to not only improve the food store and its products, but the healthcare, travel and post office branches too.

“We’re committed to providing more local products and services than ever, to give Chipping Norton residents everything they might need. We’re a retailer owned by our members in the local community, and supporting local initiatives, organisations and suppliers is a key part of what we do as a co-operative.

Colleagues at the store will continue their work with local initiatives like the Chipping Norton food bank and Hook Norton car club, with information about how customers can support them located in the stores’ community hub.”