Coop closing Locale store on the Bridge
The Channel Islands Coop has announced that it is closing its Locale store on the Bridge and relocating the in-store post office.
The store will close on 30 December, with the post office moving 200 metres down the road to the larger Grand Marche in Nocq Road to where it was situated before the smaller store opened at the end of 2018.
‘While it is with sadness that we announce the store closure at The Bridge, we are very pleased that all team members will be relocated, and no redundancies have been made,’ said CI Cooperative Society CEO Mark Cox.
‘We are also happy to announce that we intend to move the Post Office store. We believe the proposed new location at Nocq Road would be of great use and convenience to our local community and are hopeful of its continuity of service.
‘As with many other retailers, we have faced many challenges in recent years. Nevertheless by making difficult decisions like this, it allows us to optimise the utilisation of our limited workforce, reduce costs, and channel resources towards areas that make the most benefit our members, team and community.’
The Coop did not comment on whether the decision was part of its plans for the long-planned Leale’s Yard redevelopment nearby.
The retailer bought the former industrial site behind the Bridge in 1998, but barely any progress has been made to transform the site in the last 25 years, apart from the submission of four planning applications between 2009 and last year.
The most recent was submitted in April 2022 but is still awaiting a decision. The application included 338 residential units, 5,800sqm of retail floor space, 8,000sqm of commercial floorspace, and a multi-storey car park.
Martin Search, managing director of Jewellers Ray & Scott, who has worked on the Bridge for 50 years, said this was a positive move for the area.
‘From a Bridge point of view this is a good thing, as we now have a prime retail unit ready for occupation,’ he said.
‘The area is crying out for a high-end restaurant, but any sort of diversification is welcome. The timing is also welcome as it will give someone new a quiet period to bed in at the start of next year.’
He said he understood the Coop’s move to close the smaller of its two stores in the area.
‘This a sensible decision. Retailers need to be profitable, hopefully this is a first step on the changing of the Bridge as the Coop gets ready to relocate to Leale’s Yard. I can’t wait to see what happens.’
