A NEW Asda supermarket looks likely to replace a former Co-Op store as part of a £30million proposal, it has been revealed.

Plans are being finalised for a new supermarket and homes on the site of the former store off Golden Jubilee Way in Wickford, according to Mark Francois MP for Wickford and Rayleigh. 

Proposals are set to be submitted to Basildon Council before the end of the year and it’s set to open next year, it is hoped.

The former Co-Op supermarket in the town closed down in May 2022 after its lease expired and plans, by developer Heriot UK, were agreed for a new Morrisons at the site as well as 138 homes. 

However, Morrisons pulled out of the plans and concerns were raised the empty site could become an eyesore.

Now, Mr Francois has revealed during a debate in Parliament the developer is in “advanced talks” with a major supermarket. 

It is understood the supermarket involved is Asda and the deal is approaching its conclusion. 

During the debate in Parliament, at the end of July, Mr Francois said: “Heriot is working on what might be called a plan B, and for some months has been in what it describes as “advanced talks” with another major supermarket chain. 

“For commercial reasons Heriot asked me not to name the supermarket in this speech, something I have agreed to respect—although I have to say the name of the company in question is now effectively an open secret, and was even being reported back to me on doorsteps by my Wickford constituents during the General Election. 

“I spoke to the directors of Heriot in advance of this debate, who assure me they are seeking to bring their commercial negotiations to a conclusion as soon as possible. They are well aware of my frustration at these three years of delay, which I conveyed to them again this morning, and they have asked me to relate that they realise that my Wickford constituents have already waited a long while for a new supermarket.”

In a press release, issued on Monday, April 29, from Mr Francois MP, Asda was named as the supermarket “in advanced talks” with the developer. 

It came after Mr Francois met with senior executives from property developers Heriot, in his Westminster office in April to discuss the developers’ future proposals for the old supermarket site, in Wickford town centre.

Asda and Hariot UK were contacted for comment.