Last updated 20:09, Thursday, 17 July 2008

TESCO bosses are confident that work on its new Workington supermarket will start soon.

The supermarket wants to build a Tesco Extra store on the town’s Laundry Field on The Cloffocks.

It is waiting for a legal planning agreement between it and Allerdale council to be signed.

The 92,900 square foot store - three times the size of Workington’s current Tesco store on New Bridge Road - will be the largest in the county.

No opening date has been set but it is expected to take nine months to build. Tesco said it was keen to start as soon as possible.

It will create 200 jobs in addition to the 300 at the present store.

The store will have 700 car parking spaces, a petrol station and a cafe. It will offer a range of goods including DVDs, videos, kitchenware, electrical goods, clothes and shoes.

Allerdale council controversially sold the site to Tesco for £18 million.

The council will spend the cash on projects, including the Derwent Valley scheme in Workington, which would see the creation of a sports complex on the banks of the River Derwent.