IT looks as if the long wait for Tesco to come to Tenbury is over.

Tesco is starting work on the former Cattle Market site that has been earmarked for a new store.

The work that is already underway comes more than six years after the original idea of a Tesco supermarket in the town was first raised at a public meeting in the town.

Tesco has begun the process of clearing the site but it is not known when work on the supermarket that it is claimed will bring up to 150 new full and part-time jobs will start.

Harriett Baldwin, the MP for West Worcestershire that includes Tenbury, has welcomed the news.

She has been pushing the giant supermarket chain for a commitment.

But up until now the only information has been that despite financial problems Tesco has remained committed to the scheme but there has been no action or start date.

“I am grateful for the update from Tesco,” she said.

“The old cattle market has become a target for acts of vandalism and it is not good for the town's image.

“There is still no firm start date for work, but the work should include a new flood wall along the car park forming an important addition to the town’s future flood defences.

“The company has also committed to contributing to the town’s volunteer bus service which badly needs some financial support.”

As well as providing vital funding to the Tenbury Transport Trust the start of work by Tesco will also enable the second phase of the improvement of Tenbury Town Centre.

This has been on hold because Worcestershire County Council say that they were not in a position to get on with the work without the funds that had been promised by Tesco.

But the news that Tesco will be coming to Tenbury will not be greeted with universal acclamation in the town.

When Tesco first announced the plan to build a store it split the town in two with residents and businesses strongly on both sides of the argument.

A group was set up to resist the move and some had hoped that the long delay would mean that the scheme would be dropped.

The opponents fear that Tesco with its huge buying power will mark the death knell for many of Tenbury’s smaller independent shops. People who are against the scheme also say that it will bring a lot of extra traffic that the town is unable to cope with given its already congested and narrow streets.

But supporters of the project including Tony Penn, who represents Tenbury on Malvern Hills District Council, believe that Tesco will bring much-needed new jobs as well as providing a boost to the town.

He believes it will bring many more people into Tenbury and that the other shops and businesses will benefit as a result.

It is not known when Tesco will start work on building the new store that by its standards will be modest in size.

However, it has been estimated that the store would take nine months from start to completion and so it will not be open in time for Christmas.