A DEAL which will see high-end supermarket chain Waitrose come to Evesham has been finalised this week.

Planning permission for the £10million scheme was granted in February and will involve relocating the town’s existing fire station in Merstow Green to Wychavon’s former depot in Abbey Road next to the leisure centre.

The new supermarket store will then be built on the existing fire station site and Old Brewery Car Park.

Wychavon District Council, Waitrose and Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service are now fully committed to the project after the agreement became unconditional last week.

It is expected that Waitrose' presence in the town will attract additional business and increase visitor numbers as it has done in other areas.

The fire station phase of the project is expected to be completed by November 2016, with Waitrose expecting to open its doors to customers in March 2018, slightly later than originally planned.

The district council has agreed to contribute around £3million to Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority to build a new fire station in the town, with any additional funding for the project coming from the fire authority’s own funds.

The council will then build Waitrose a new store which the supermarket chain will lease back from the council and pay a commercial rent on. Wychavon retains ownership of the building which, if necessary, it would be able to sell or find a new tenant for at the end of the initial 20 year lease term.

With other costs, the project will total £10million which will be funded internally without any external borrowing and is separate from money used for the day to day running of council services.

Once open, the store is expected to create up to 150 jobs. It is the second time Wychavon has entered into such a deal with Waitrose. In 2005 a similar agreement brought the company to Droitwich and has contributed to the regeneration of the town by helping to increase visitor numbers and attract new shops.

Cllr Lynne Duffy, portfolio holder for resources on Wychavon District Council, said: “This is a significant step forward for the Evesham Waitrose project. We’ve already seen the benefits having Waitrose in town brings from the impact of the Droitwich scheme and we’re confident Evesham will benefit in a similar way. I can’t wait now for work to get started.”