Braintree: Asda unveils plans for store at Freeport

8:44am Wednesday 12th September 2012 in News

Artist's impression of the store Artist's impression of the store

Asda has revealed it plans to set up shop on the outskirts of town.

The retail giant is working with Freeport Braintree to build a supermarket and petrol station on vacant land next to the outlet shopping village in Millennium Way.

It will create 300 jobs for local people, in addition to the 800 people already employed at Freeport.

The store, with a sales area of 30,000 sq ft, will mainly sell food but also CDs, DVDs, books, homeware and George clothing. A 75-space commuter car park next to Freeport railway station is also planned.

There will be public exhibitions next week.

See today's Braintree and Witham Times for full story.

Comments(11)

migsjeep says...
10:15am Wed 12 Sep 12

It will be good to have Asda in the area, and also help the unemployment, by creating 300 jobs.

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noggynoo says...
11:10am Wed 12 Sep 12

This is great news for Braintree. I've been waiting for years for an Asda with a petrol station to be built here. They'll give Texaco at Galleys Corner a run for their money & not before time, they're extortionate.

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OrangeChris says...
4:50pm Wed 12 Sep 12

Another supermarket. It is really needed?? Probably not but at least its not another Tesco!!
Asda normally have good deals on in store and are sometimes cheaper than other supermarkets so it will be good to have one :)

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mad nanny says...
6:30pm Wed 12 Sep 12

it's a shame it is not going to be bigger, they should close one of the tesco's down. make morries bigger. so they have some competition. many familes in braintree, cannot afford tesco's. so will come as a godsend. you only have to see the amount of people who have there shopping, delivered by asda. also tesco should leave the pub alone in coldnailhurst. and it should be turned into a comunity based cafe for the young mums and elderly. greenfields have concentrated on the teenagers, with the skate park. what about the rest of us.?.

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Bit_Bytr says...
6:00pm Fri 14 Sep 12

ASDA? Walmart - please, do yourselves a favour and inform yourselves before extolling the virtue of this company and your perceived "benefits" from them opening another store.

"Asda has been criticised for misleading advertising, using suppliers who are known to have illegal employment practices, ignoring planning regulations and destroying greenbelt land, lack of serious environmental policy and blatant greenwash. With its ‘strategy of consolidation’, copied directly from Wal-Mart, Asda pursues an aggressive takeover policy of small towns, wiping out local competition and local jobs."

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Keep Essex Green says...
11:51pm Fri 14 Sep 12

If the artist was paid for this photo, then Asda must be charging too much for their groceries! Blue skies, only 8 cars in the car park, just 3 people walking about...and no signs saying about fines if you park longer than 1.5 hours! Come on Asda show it how it would really look!

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keith_l says...
8:36am Sat 15 Sep 12

Looking forward to it. If we have time to go to Chelmsford then our shopping is £30 cheaper than if we have to shop in Witham.

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Victor Meldrew Junior says...
10:45am Sat 15 Sep 12

Keep Essex Green wrote:
If the artist was paid for this photo, then Asda must be charging too much for their groceries! Blue skies, only 8 cars in the car park, just 3 people walking about...and no signs saying about fines if you park longer than 1.5 hours! Come on Asda show it how it would really look!
Obviously, they are charging too much, as all three people are walking away empty-handed!

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kikarne says...
10:10am Sun 16 Sep 12

I wonder if the council will remember that this area was designated a "Non Retail Food Area" back when we, the residence of the Chelmer Rd/Mersea Fleet Way area, were fighting them (and winning) during the building of what was then called "Chapel Hill Retail Park" ??

I am not opposed to Asda, or any supermarket as such, but living right next to this ever growing site, I do worry that BDC will, once again, only see the extra income and not remember the people they are there to represent and protect and no thought will be given to further protection against increased noise and poloution.....

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Keep Essex Green says...
1:21pm Sun 16 Sep 12

Well said Kikarne, BDC only seem to care about the income they can create and not about the happiness of the people, if BDC had their way they would concrete the whole place over!

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kikarne says...
12:30am Mon 17 Sep 12

BDC should also remember that there was a part of the original planning policy that said ANY business opening in this area should not have a detrimental effect on existing town center shops....... mind you BDC didn't seem at all interested when we pointed out the first 2 shops that did open, after quite a wait, were B&Q and Halfords. both who then closed their town center shops !! (I still have all the paper work, copies of policies, plans and the Ombudsmans report to refer to if they need help)

It really makes me cross how the policies can be changed for these huge businesses but when it comes to one of us homeowners adding an extension that varies slightly to the plans we get told to knock it down or are taken to court...... Who's town is this ?? Elected representative Cllr Butland, and his mob, or the people of Braintree who fund it ???

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