Mosborough Central Co-op: Summer opening date hope for long-delayed supermarket as details of neighbouring business revealed
A LONG-awaited new supermarket in a Yorkshire village is on course to finally open this summer – with a veterinary practice to be based in the same building.
A planned new Central Co-op store, in Mosborough, on the outskirts of Sheffield, had originally been due to open last year.
But in January 2024, council officials deemed there had been “unlawful” changes to the design of the building and there being an “unacceptable reduction in design quality” compared to what was agreed at the planning stage.
Issues were caused in part by the building being subdivided into two commercial units rather than three as originally approved.
Sheffield Council issued an enforcement notice in May 2024 ordering the Doncaster-based developer Bar24 to either demolish the building entirely or rebuild it in accordance with the proposals originally given planning permission.
The developer submitted a revised planning application which was given conditional approval by the council in December and resulted in a series of changes being made.
Changes have included the replacement of fascia panels with real timber ones, the reinstatement of natural stonework, the screening of a substation and additional tree planting, while the drainage system was also rebuilt.
A spokesperson for Bar24 said earlier this week that work on the site had been completed several weeks ago and was waiting council sign-off before being passed over.
The spokesperson also confirmed that the second unit of the building will be occupied by a company called Harrisons Family Vets.
After being contacted by The Yorkshire Post, a spokesperson for Sheffield City Council said on Thursday that the work has now been signed off by a registered building control approver.
Bar24 said on Friday that it was yet to receive any confirmation that the work had all been signed off.
Sheffield Council subsequently said there are still two outstanding planning matters connected to the site – one relating to landscaping and the other to car parking – to be signed off but it is hoped decisions “will be issued as soon possible”.
In a statement provided to this newspaper prior to the council’s statements, a spokesperson for Central Co-op said the firm is hoping to open in the summer, having previously said it was tentatively planning a spring opening.
The spokesperson said once the shell works were completed and planning conditions satisfied, the company “will be able to move forward with our fit-out and store preparations”.
They added: “Given these factors, we are now working towards an opening in summer 2025. The new store will create around 15 jobs locally. We’ll share more details on recruitment and the store launch as we move closer to opening.”
Harrisons Family Vets, whose other locations include Doncaster, Leeds and Manchester, did not respond to a request for comment.
The new building stands on the site of the former Royal Oak pub, which was pulled down without planning permission in May 2021.
The demolition happened months after toxic waste had been illegally dumped at the site, with chemicals contaminating a neighbouring house.
Bar 24 Ltd was subsequently given permission to build a new supermarket on the site, despite attempts to force the rebuilding of the pub.