New King Street site for Co-op

Friday 06 November 2015

The Co-op is to open a temporary shop on King Street while their Charing Cross site is re-developed.

Jersey’s largest supermarket group is to take on premises currently occupied by King Street News.

The temporary Co-op is expected to open before Christmas, and operate for at least two years while building work takes place.

Plans for the Charing Cross site include a 91-room Premier Inn hotel and an upgraded Co-op supermarket.

The £12 million scheme will also include a retail unit to let, while plans to close Pitt Street to traffic will enable the space to be used to display public art, including the traditional ‘HMV’ sign with Nipper the dog, which is to be painted on the side of one of the buildings.

Colin MacLeod, Chief Executive of the Channel Islands Co-operative Society, said: “We will be opening up a Co-op on the site to maintain a presence in the area while the development at Charing Cross takes place.

“The development is forecast to take two years so we expect to be trading at the temporary premises for just over two years. We expect the shop to open before Christmas.”

The project is intended to be a key part of the regeneration of St Helier. Under revised plans, four of the Grade Three, ‘potentially’ listed buildings will be retained, three of which will be ‘gifted’ to the National Trust for restoration.

Over 80% of the building work is expected to be by Jersey registered companies, employing up to 300 people during construction.

As well as new jobs in the enlarged supermarket, the new hotel, and potential tourism uplift mean the project is forecast to eventually bring £35 million to the Jersey economy.

In June Premier Inn exchanged unconditional contracts for a hotel, and a Thyme restaurant on the site. This is Whitbread’s first project in Jersey.