A NEW £1.5 million store is set to open in Southampton by the end of the year.

The 3,000 square foot new Co-Op is being proposed in Sholing.

Situated on the site of the former Veracity Service Station on Spring Road, the planned opening will replace the current store on Wodehouse Road.

Co-Op hope to fit the new shop with a bakery, locally sourced products and a focus on fresh and healthy foods.

They also said that although most staff would be moving from the Wodehouse store to the new premises, the company could be looking at recruiting more workers as the opening becomes closer.

Alistair Smith, regional acquisitions manager said: “We’re looking forward to relocating our store in Itchen.

Our current store is not providing the best offer to the community and as such we are delighted we can move to a larger store, which will also provide more parking.

“This will give us the opportunity to provide shoppers with our full range of award-winning food in a store designed to be easy to use for everyone.”

Tony Hind, head of new store development said: “We’re committed to finding great locations for our new stores, we know people want to be able to buy high quality food near to where they live and work, in handy-sized shops that are open at convenient times.

“We opened 100 new stores last year and will open another 100 again this year, and are always on the lookout for new sites where we can be at the heart of local life.”