Thetford Somerfield to close

A national supermarket chain has announced it is closing a town centre store in Norfolk - two years after it was reopened following a major blaze.

Thirty-five employees at Somerfield in Thetford were told that they faced losing their jobs when the store closes

its doors for the last time next month.

The retailer, which is the UK's sixth biggest grocer, said it was working closely with staff at the supermarket in Minstergate to find new positions within the company or jobs with other retailers in the area.

The news comes after the 20,000sqft supermarket reopened in January 2006 following a £1m refit after an arson attack gutted the then Kwik Save store in March 2004.

A Somerfield spokesman confirmed the Thetford shop would close to the public on April 18.

She said the “difficult” decision followed an ongoing review of the profitability and projected performance of its stores.

“All 35 employees are currently in one-to-one consultations with their manager.

“We are also working to establish potential opportunities at other Somerfield stores nearby and with other retailers in the area.

“Redundancy packages are available to those we cannot place.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank staff and customers for their support at this store over the years,” she said.

A worker at the Thetford store, who declined to be named, said the news was “disappointing”, but the company was “working hard” to find them new jobs.

An unnamed retailer is already believed to be taking on the lease of the Minstergate store.

Somerfield, which has more than 900 stores, is up for sale with a price tag of more than £2bn.

It recorded pre-tax profits of £26.4m last year.

The company has more than a dozen stores in Norfolk and Suffolk, with the nearest ones to Thetford at Wymondham and Bury St Edmunds.