Councillors hear new store aims to be Co-Operative with Whittlesey community

A presentation outlining what’s on offer from a supermarket brand’s community initiative was given at Thursday night’s meeting of Whittlesey Town Council.

Rox Croot, the community liaison for the Co-Op in Whittlesey and Coates, told councillors of the various ways the supermarket chain supports good causes and urged councillors to come forward with suggestions where the support was needed

She said a percentage of the money from plastic shopping bags is used to support the community and said the amount can vary from £200 to £200,000, depending on the store.

Rox also said the Co-op is proud of its green spaces project, which works within communities to improve the local environment.

She said there were no such projects in the local area at the moment, but she was hoping to hear from groups needing support in the near future.

Another initiative is the Community Cuppas, which are coffee mornings supported by stores to help tackle social isolation, and again she was looking for local events to get behind.

Health pods were something councillors felt would prove useful in the Whittlesey area. These are again run by the supermarket chain and offer free checks on health issues such as glucose, earwax, blood pressure, and weight.

Rox explained the health pods are run by a qualified pharmacist and she said the hope was to provide such a service through the Co-op’s new store whi in Coates.

Cllr Jason Mockett said he would be happy to get involved in such an initiative, as he believed it would benefit the people of Coates who may struggle to get the help and advice they need due to being unable to drive, and the lack of public transport.

Rox said the Co-op was already forging links with Coates Primary School and in particular talking to pupils about road safety in the light of extra traffic generated by the new store.

She said the Co-op was keen to work with groups within the Coates community and Cllr Eamonn Dorling asked if the 70th Platinum Jubilee Green, which is under the Whittlesey Town Council banner, would be considered – she agreed it would.

Rox also wanted to hear from people interested in setting up local health walks, but Cllr Dorling said there were already two up and running, and she said she would like to get involved with those.

Councillors thanked Rox for her presentation and said they would promote the community aspect of the Co-op.