Co-op to open new store in Ridgewood Sussex

A new Co-op store is set to launch on Thursday (22 February) to serve and support the Ridgewood, Uckfield community in Sussex. The 2,500 sq ft purpose-built convenience store, located in Eastbourne Road, Ridgewood brings into use surplus space in the grounds of the Highlands Inn creating a community hub. It opens between 7am-10pm daily and supports 13 local jobs. Designed to serve and support the community conveniently, the store includes customer car parking, a cash machine, in-store bakery and a Costa Coffee Express machine. This sits alongside a focus on healthy products, meal ideas and everyday essentials, food-to-go, Fairtrade products, chilled beers and award winning wines, ready meals, pizzas and free-from, vegan and plant-based products. There is also a soft plastic recycle unit available in store to enable the community to recycle soft plastics including crisp packets and bread bags, lids from ready meals and yoghurt pots, biscuit wrappers and, pet food pouches – ensuring all Co-op’s own food packaging is recyclable through either local authority kerbside collections, or the in-store soft plastic recycling. The store will operate as a Co-op franchise. The convenience retailer is committed to growing its award-winning franchise business, with the model enabling Co-op to bring its products to more communities. James Thirlway, store manager, said: “The whole team is delighted to launch Co-op’s newest store, to serve and support our community. We are really looking forward to welcoming Member-owners and customers into their new Co-op. “Our aim is to operate at the heart of local life, we’ve worked to develop the range, choice and added services to create a compelling offer, conveniently. This includes a focus on delivering member-value so that the people who own our business, Co-op's member-owners, benefit every time they shop.”