TESCO has put back the opening on its new supermarket in Tenbury by two months.

It has been intended that the store would open at the end of February but this has been rescheduled until the end of April.

This marks another delay in the opening of the store on the former Cattle Market site that was first discussed in early 2010.

Jessica Walker, speaking for Tesco, said that the decision has been made in order to enable work on Teme Street to be completed before the opening.

“It is unfortunate but we want to make sure that everything is right,” she said.

“Most of the staff have been recruited and they will be deployed and trained at other stores before we open in Tenbury so they will be getting paid.

“There are about 130 jobs and all but about 20 of these have been filled.”

A series of recruitment sessions have been held at Tenbury High School where people have had the opportunity to receive information and apply for jobs.

Tesco is making a major contribution to the second phase of the town centre improvements under the direction of Worcestershire County Council.

The contribution from the national supermarket chain was agreed as part of the planning application thrashed out with Malvern Hills District Council.

Tony Penn, who represents Tenbury on Malvern Hills District Council and has consistently supported the supermarket project, said that the decision to delay is the right thing to do.

“Tesco is to be congratulated and this is the right thing to do,” said Tony Penn.

“They want to make sure that everything is completed and that they have fulfilled their obligations to the community.”

Ken Pollock, who represents Tenbury on Worcestershire County Council, had said the store would not be able to open until all of the work in town in the town had been completed.

Part of the improvements in Market Street were undertaken last year but the second phase was delayed as the contribution from Tesco was needed in order to pay for the work.

Originally, the work would have been done by contractors working for the county council but it was agreed that a contractor working for Tesco could do the work in line with a specification prepared by the local authority.

“I welcome the decision to open the store on April 27," said Cllr Pollock. "I applaud their decision to take on all the 100 staff from the end of February, and to use the intervening time to ensure they are properly trained and ready to offer superb service to their customers, once the Tenbury store is open.

“I am sure this will prove a rejuvenating force for the town as a whole and will be of great benefit, not only to the residents in and around Tenbury, but also to all the independent traders in the town.”

Tesco has also agreed that when the store opens it will make a contribution of nearly £100,000 to the Tenbury Transport Trust that provides local community-based mini-bus services.

In early 2010, Tesco first expressed an interest in in the former Cattle Market site but an original plan was withdrawn.

There followed a long delay as the supermarket chain faced the impact of the financial downturn but Tesco remained committed to coming to Tenbury.

Work on clearing the site began at the end of last summer with construction starting in October with a view to opening on the last Thursday in February.

The supermarket scheme has divided Tenbury with supporters welcoming the new jobs and predicting it would bring more people to the town while opponents fearing that it will damage existing businesses.