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"Sustainable" Morpeth store would create 200 jobs

Tesco has announced plans to build a new supermarket on a rundown site on the edge of Morpeth, creating 200 new jobs.

The supermarket, on the disused PD Ports haulage depot in Coopies Lane Industrial Estate, will be built with sustainability and energy efficiency in mind, with proposals including a wind turbine and combined heat and power system.

It will mainly sell food, some of which will provided by the 230 suppliers Tesco already uses in the North East.

Tesco’s plans for the 20,000 sq ft shop would also involve landscaping the site, improving road access and the construction of a cycle track. A shopper’s bus could also be provided between Coopies Lane and the town centre.

Douglas Wilson, Tesco’s corporate affairs manager for the North East, said: “Tesco’s investment in Morpeth will generate a significant amount of additional money into the local economy. We also make sure that we will become very much part of the local community, providing as much support as we can.”

Tesco has announced that it aims to half the carbon footprint of its stores and distribution centres by 2020. All new stores built between now and then will emit, on average, 50% less carbon than an equivalent store built in 2006. This is being achieved through a range of measures including increased energy efficiency, the use of sustainable construction materials and - in some cases - the use of renewable equipment such as combined heat and power systems, solar panels, wind turbines and biomass boilers.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .