Chatteris supermarket will close next month ready for its reincarnation as a Tesco store

The shutters will come down for the last time on a pioneering Fenland supermarket early next month.

Jack’s on Fenland Way in Chatteris will close on March 7 and will re-open as a large Tesco store some time in April.

The building was originally built as a Tesco superstore but the supermarket giant pulled the plug on opening in the town in 2015 leaving the premises empty.

The building remained mothballed for three years. Then in 2018 Tesco launched its Jack's brand opening the first store of its kind in Chatteris store.

It was the first of 13 Jack's branches opened nationally to mark the 100th anniversary of the firm and to also take on budget retailers like Lidl and Aldi.

However, at the end of last month the company announced it was axing all 13 Jack's and would be closing seven of the stores altogether while converting the remaining six into Tesco superstores.

Within days there was reassurance the store in Chatteris would be one of those being converted to a Tesco after local council Ian Benney revealed he had received a letter from Keith Jackson, central and East communications manager for Tesco, outlining plans for the store.

It means all those currently employed by Jack's will automatically be offered a job within the Tesco store.

Now it has been revealed the closing date is March 7 in a letter to staff. A date for when the store will re-open has yet to be confirmed but it will be in April and contrary to rumours on social media sites it will be located in the current Jack's store only and will not be taking over the part of the building occupied by Pound Stretcher as well.

Jason Tarry, Tesco's CEO, said when the closures were announced:“We have learnt a huge amount from Jack’s and this has helped Tesco become more competitive, more efficient and strengthened our value proposition, including through the launch of Aldi Price Match.

"In turn, this has enabled us to consistently attract new customers to Tesco from our competitors over the last two years and we know they increasingly recognise the value they can find at Tesco. With the learnings from Jack’s now applied, the time is right to focus on ensuring we continue to deliver the best possible value for customers in our core business.

"Our Jack’s brand will continue to be sold across Booker and our symbol brands, bringing great value and quality to even more customers. We want to thank our Jack’s colleagues for all they have done and taught us. Our priority is to find roles within our wider business for all the colleagues who want to stay with us."

Tesco were approached for a comment on news of closure date and the conversion of the store but were unable to offer anything at this time.