Heart of England Co-op has opened an ambitious addition to its retail estate with its “biggest, greenest and most advanced” store to date.
The new flagship food store, which has a floor space of 4,682 sq. ft, was officially opened to hundreds of waiting shoppers at Glenvale Park, Wellingborough, Northants, on 30 November.
The store also has drive-through coffee bar, operated by the co-op on a franchise basis from Bewiched, a chain launched just a mile from the new store. It is the first coffee drive-through in the world to roast its own beans on site, the co-op says, and offers seating for 64 customers with another area outside.
Heart of England owns the retail centre at Glenvale Park and has invested £6.1m into the development which includes seven rental units. Other businesses at the site include fast food outlet Subway, tanning salon Indigosun, and hairdressers Golden Scissors.
Pupils at Glenvale Church of England Primary School, which took part in the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, received a £500 donation from Heart of England. Other community groups were also given a boost to their funds to celebrate the opening: Glenvale Park Football Club received £900 for a new kit from the retail society’s Helping Hearts scheme.
(store manager) and Jacqueline Coles (customer service adviser)
Glenvale Park care home was awarded £500 towards its musical activities and a £500 donation was made to the Mother Christmas Shoebox Appeal to buy gifts for children who have had a tough start in life.
During the opening weekend, 200 goodie bags and free crumpets were handed out to shoppers. The Wellingborough Music Centre Band entertained families with Cooper the Bear also putting in an appearance.
“This is our most ambitious development to date,” said Heart of England CEO Steve Browne. “We feel proud and excited because the scale of our investment mirrors the faith we have in the future of Glenvale Park. The local centre is at the heart of a vibrant community with 3,000 new homes. It is bringing jobs and a fantastic mix of services that will benefit many thousands of people for generations to come.
“A considerable amount of planning has gone into our new food store, and the end result has more than matched our expectations. It is an imposing building, with a modern and vibrant feel, and has plenty of natural light flooding in through the glass frontage.
“I’m confident shoppers will appreciate the quality, value and choice that it offers. The early feedback we have received about the store and the coffee drive-thru has been extremely encouraging.”
The site is Heart of England’s 38th food store, with outlets in Warwickshire, South Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. The society employs 700 people across its food and funeral divisions.
Built by local firm PGR Construction, the new store has created 20 jobs, the society says, with 15 more people being taken on at the coffee branch. More than half of the food store’s energy comes from solar power, and green tech includes energy-efficient refrigeration, smart lighting, and six rapid EV chargers in the 76-bay car park.
“The environment is a vital factor to us in every development we take on as we continue to
make huge strides to reduce our carbon footprint,” said Browne. “Last year we invested £2m on green initiatives across our business. Our ultimate ambition is to get to net zero and lead by example in putting the planet first.”
