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Crowds as new Sainsbury’s opens
Wednesday 10th March 2010, 11:30AM GMT.
Hundreds of shoppers queued outside a new Sainsbury’s today as it threw open its doors for the first time.
More than 200 jobs have been created at the supermarket in Wombourne, near Wolverhampton, which opened at 9am after eight months of construction.
Manager Mick Webb, aged 42, from Lichfield, who used to manage Sainsbury’s in Perton, said: “We are very excited to be opening today. There is a real buzz about the place. I can’t believe how many people were queuing outside to get in.”
The 22,000 sq ft Sainsbury’s in Heath Mill Road industrial estate was built after villagers launched a campaign for a major supermarket. Tesco lost a bid to build a rival store opposite.
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I don’t remember villagers launching a campaign for a major supermarket. I remember 2 supermarkets battling to build, and I remember comments from villagers sitting on both sides of the fence regarding whether they wanted a supermarket or not (both views being about equal from what i can tell).
But I don’t remember a concerted “yes” campaign from anyone other than Sainsburys and Tescos.
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Personally i think it should have been Waitrose you would have seen a much better class of queue. :)
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Dear, oh dear, a queue for the opening of a supermarket. A new tourist destination for Midlanders.I suppose it beats going to Barmouth for the day.How sad.
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Couldn’t agree more QuietWolf! Unbelievably sad! What a fulfilling life these people must lead!
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Politically orientated I wonder.
Alas, I bet Tipton folk can beat that! How about a road running underneath a..train track! What joy to see people walking along..it. I think there should be an entry fee with things like this..the rest of the world is way behind us (p.s. don’t tell people there’s free air, and rain..and dirt; they may faint with such exitement). You’ve never had it so good.
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Oh dear – not another Sainsburys – what a total waste of space.
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what a fantastic store, very clean and tidy and well stocked. the staff are very friendly and helpful. its just on our doorstep so its ideal for us.
Cant understand what the fuss is about it could have been an Aldi!!.
Congratulation to the staff, and Anna, Georgina, June, Jan and the rest of the campaigners.
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Fantastic to have such a great supermarket on the doorstep. it will be well used – long over due!!!!.
Congratulations to all involved.
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What a sad life you must lead.
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Calm down dears it’s only a supermarket.
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completely agree
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I think the opening of Sainsburys is totally pointless,
there are 3 co op’s located in Wombourne, including the petrol station which is being refurbished and expanded, a spar shop, plus other convienience stores. There is adequate shops which provide essential goods and enough for a good shop- I know as I work in one of these stores.
It will take much needed trade away from local grocers and off-licences and the traffic around Sainsburys will be a night mare. There has never been a need for a huge supermarket, people shouldnt be so bone idol and go to the ones in town and support their local shops not feed Sainsburys ever growing revenue. Its local shops that need the trade, Sainsburys.
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I think its great news for the village. Its created jobs in the area and its not in the village centre so the shops there will hopefully be ok. But I think its fab especially for the elderly that they now have a supermarket on their doorstep!
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It’s good news in one way, ie better choice less distance to travel but I worry about the village centre. Yes, the shops are dear, yes, parking is poor, but it is our village!
One thing to be remembered, it is not only Wombourne people who will shop there! Some will come from Himley, Kingswinford and even as far away as possibly Gornal, Stourbridge and Dudley…so what will the traffic be like then?
Will Wombourne be a “rabbit run” of people coming from Lower Penn and Penn? Will parking improve as people flock out of the village and will shops and the community suffer?
So many questions, so few answers…only time will tell!
Moriarty…(what they going to build next, hmmm…?)
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What are they going to build next …..hopefully Waitrose i hate going out of WV5 to shop,
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As general news goes I find it a bit mundane. However, as stores go I like Sainsbury’s..it’s clean and spacious, quite a contrast to some of the other stores in this region, which seem more like cattle farms. Yes it’s also good news for the people who wanted it..just not so sure about local, smaller retailers, and whether these kinds of jobs are enough.
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Yippee! Another supermarket for sad trolley leaners to dither around! Go and do something more interesting instead!
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and you dont go into shops to get your items with a trolley?
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What a sad, sad day for Wombourne. Whoever pushed so hard for this should hang their heads in shame when ‘the Village’ has gone and most of the Shops are boarded up. There are three supermarkets in the village centre now, just how many do people want? Wombourne is a great place to shop with a wide variety of retailers who will go out of their way to help their customers and this monstrosity is just a massive kick in the teeth for them. Well done Councillors et al.
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I think Tesco would have been a lot better option for the village! There plans were to also include a petrol station which is more use to people who live and work in Wombourne. Yes there is already a petrol station in the village but there prices are phenominal especially with the economic climate as it is at the moment, and this would have also created more jobs for the area!
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Tesco’s would have been a better option, I for one totally agree. Cheaper, petrol as well, but, this is Wombourne. A white middle class, dormitory village/town for those who work away all week and not one for “down market” shops.
Now… an Aldi with a petrol station…that would have really “put the cat amongst the pigeons!”
Sorry, but in hindsight it will be better overall…but only once the shops are closed and turned into charity shops, fast food and hairdressers as we need a few more of them!
So…how about an out of town park and ride to get rid of all the cars parked all day in the village from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm? It would relieve the parking problem…and what about a building society?
Any more suggestions?
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Well this will be the beginning of the end for the few privately owned shops in Wombourne.
Congratulations Sainsbury’s for another nail in the coffin for local communities.
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say bye bye 2 all the local small buisness
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Bye bye
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I think its sad that so many people have such a poor view on things…
i agree the queuing to get in the doors is a little extreme but people need to eat and need everyday essentials that some stores cannot provide so the next best thing was morrisons and with the quality of fruit going through the doors we need something better. the closest store is Merry Hill and sometimes battling the traffic is stressful in itself.
I also agree that local stores may suffer but theres and extra 200 people who are no longer sitting at home all day so we could be a little more grateful of that…everyone should just calm down and get on with it
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Yeah – but Sainsburys?
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I quite agree with QuietWolf – another place to go for a day out. I moved to Norfolk as I couldn’t wait to leave the Mids. There is nothing to do there apart from shopping and the nearest beach is over an hour away. You have to set out for a day trip early hours of the morning because of the traffic congestion. Then when you arrive, it is overcrowded. Give me Norfolk any day!
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I am happy that there is a sainsburys in wombourne. It is convenient for me as i only live across the street. There is also not a great deal of traffic, if anything it has made what was a dangerous road, safer! It is a lot easier for me to get out of my drive in a morning! If people dont like it then don’t go there, but im sure you will all go there at some point. If people want a waitrose, get in the car a drive down the road and stop moaning about it!
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