Brightlingsea’s much-anticipated Sainsbury’s supermarket opened for business at 9am on Thursday, May 29 – five months after the closure of the Co-op Fiveways store it replaced.

The Samsons Road building was leased to Sainsbury’s by the East of England Co-op, part of a cost-saving exercise which also saw stores in Felixstowe – now also a Sainsbury’s  and Halstead closed. The store has retained several former Fiveway’s staff  and employs around 70 people, 30 more than the Co-0p did.

At the opening, Brightlingsea mayor, Chris Paveley (pictured in the gallery below), welcomed Sainsbury’s to the town. He said: “Two things that stood out for me. Firstly the store is offering the same price points as that of their superstore in Stanway Colchester, removing the need to travel out of town to obtain good value.

Mr Paveley added: “Sainsbury’s is not only bringing very competitive pricing to the own but also increasing the number of local people employed, something all the people in Brightlingsea would welcome.”