As one Sainsbury's store is demolished, another brand new one opens in Milton Keynes

The long-planned for store in Eagle Farm South at Wavendon has been welcomed with open arms by residents.

It is opposite St Mary’s CoE Primary School and four children from the school, along with their headteacher Mrs Amanda Dicks, were invited to cut the ribbon at the official opening ceremony.

Local councillor and St Mary’s school governor David Hopkins said: “We are delighted to see this long awaited and essential local facility now open adding yet another important dimension to the creation of the community of Eagle Farm South.

Until recently the estate had no bus service... For residents with limited access or no access to a car, it was a 20-minute walk to the nearest food retail outlet or a 35-minute walk to the Kingston Centre.”

The parish council is now focused upon achieving the opening of a second retail store opposite Glebe Farm School, which is half a mile away, and hopes this will happen in the” not-too-distant future”, said Cllr Hopkins.

Meanwhile, a few miles away in Bletchley, residents are saying goodbye to the once-iconic Sainsbury’s store that was a large feature of the town for decades.

This week is has been reduced to rubble as part of Milton Keynes City Council’s plans to redevelop the Sinsbury’s site and car park along with the adjacant Brunel shopping centre.

The 6.4 acre site has been earmarked for a “modern mixed-use scheme” to include new high density housing and shops.

.The Brunel Centre and the Wilko site are owned by the MK City Council’s ‘business arm’ Milton Keynes Development Partnership (MKDP), while the former Sainsbury’s store and car park belongs to the council itself.

The council is currently looking for a development partner to deliver the scheme, which it says will “benefit people for generations to come.”

The move forms part of the Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Deal project, which will see major improvements to Bletchley and Fenny Stratford, partly paid for by £23m in government funding the city council had previously secured.