Work has started on the old Waitrose supermarket in Hall Green – and rumours are swirling
The long-standing Waitrose store closed down in January(Image: BirminghamLive/Robson McCallister)
Work has started on an empty Waitrose supermarket which closed down in January after a more than half a century serving a Birmingham community.
Workmen have been spotted at the boarded-up site in Hall Green’s Stratford Road in recent weeks, igniting hope among locals that the prominent building could soon be brought back into use.
Locals were disappointed to learn of the planned closure when it was first announced last autumn, with Waitrose bosses calling the decision a ‘last resort’ after failed attempts to boost falling profits at the branch.
Read more: Two new shops to open in Birmingham Grand Central this summer
The store had served generations of Hall Green residents since it opened in 1971 and a petition was launched to try and save the shop.
One shopper branded the loss ‘another nail in the firmly closed coffin’ for the area.
A petition was set up to try and save the store, but it closed down in January(Image: Josh Sandiford / Birmingham Live)
BirminghamLive quizzed regulars on their hopes for the site and many were of the opinion that an M&S food hall would best serve the community.
However, rumours are now swirling that B&M could be the retailer taking over the plot, with posts on social media claiming that workmen confirmed the plans when approached by curious neighbours.
Birmingham City Council’s Councillor Timothy Huxtable has also reached out to the bargain brand after being contacted by residents concerned about the potential loss of greenery surrounding the land if it is redeveloped.
The Conservative ward member posted in a community Facebook group: “Residents have been in touch with me to express their concerns about what might happen to the greenery that is on-site during the redevelopment.
“B&M, who many think will be opening a new store, have neither confirmed nor denied they are the new tenants here, but if they are, I have urged them to keep things such as the shrubs and trees on the edges of the car park, the mature ivy and the blossom tree near the front exit gates.
“This is not just so it looks prettiest but also so the habitat it provides to local bird and insect life can be retained, which all of us in Hall Green would benefit from.”
The Hall Green site is not included on B&M’s current list of new store openings, though the retailer did not respond to BirminghamLive’s request for comment.
When contacted by Cllr Huxtable, a B&M customer services representative said: “As we expand across the UK, B&M aim to open 50 new stores each year, however until contracts have been finalised, we are not made aware where the new store locations will be.”
The rumours have prompted mixed reactions from those living local to the site, which is within two miles of two other B&M Stores at Shirley’s Parkgate development and Sears Retail Park.
One person commented on Facebook: “What a relief.” And a second supporter wrote: “So excited, I love B&M.”
However, someone else said: “Do we need another B&M though really? So many already, Parkgate, Sears?” And another concerned resident commented: “Need a Home Bargains more like. We have enough B&M.”