Take a look inside the new Sainsbury's in Brightlingsea

Many people have been awaiting the opening of the new supermarket in Samson Road since the closure of the East of England Co-op back in December 2024.

The new shop was opened on Thursday at 9am to the delight of many residents who gathered to see what the store had to offer.

Fresh - Fruit and veg section in the new Brightlingsea Sainsbury's (Image: Sainsbury's) New - Argos collection point and a place to pick up some flowers (Image: Sainsbury's) The opening of the new supermarket was the second of 14 sites recently acquired as part of Sainsbury's strategic store acquisition scheme which will look to offer "more food choice to more customers in more locations, building on the strength of its winning combination of quality, value and service".

The first location to be converted as part of their new strategy was in Felixstowe on May 1.

Chilled - Some of the fresh products in the new store (Image: Sainsbury's) Deal - Pick up your meal deal and tasty snacks to have on the go (Image: Sainsbury's) The arrival of the Felixstowe store means almost 23,000 more people in the area now live within a 10-minute drive of a Sainsbury’s supermarket.

Over the next two years Sainsbury’s ambitious pipeline of new supermarkets will add over 400,000 sq ft of new space to its estate, representing its most significant investment in new supermarket space for many years.

Filled - Many shoppers taking a look in the new store (Image: Sainsbury's) Combined with Sainsbury’s plans to open another 25 new convenience stores in each of the next two years as well, the retailer’s growth plans will bring more than 700,000 more people within a ten-minute drive of a Sainsbury’s store.

Mayor of Brightlingsea, Chris Paveley was impressed with the new store.

He said: "I am very happy to welcome Sainsbury’s to Brightlingsea and their impressive fresh new store.

"Two things that stood out for me - firstly the store is offering the same price points as their superstore in Stanway Colchester, removing the need to travel out of town to obtain good value.

"Secondly this new store employs 70 people, 30 more than the original East of England Co-op store, therefore Sainsburys is not only bringing very competitive pricing to the town but also increasing the number of people employed in our town, something all the people in Brightlingsea would welcome."