Supermarket overhaul will see more Sudden roadworks

Manchester Road could be plunged into traffic chaos again in coming months amidst plans to completely redevelop the Tesco store in Sudden.

The current supermarket will be demolished and a larger store built to replace it. As part of the plans Tesco has offered £200,000 towards an additional bus lane on Manchester Road to ease bus journey times towards Manchester. The scheme would involve Manchester Road being significantly widened to encorporate the bus lane.

Earlier this year work was completed to turn the two roundabouts on Manchester Road near Tesco into a traffic light system. The controversial £1.6million scheme created months of traffic chaos on Manchester Road, Edinburgh Way, Roch Valley Way and Bolton Road.

Work on the store, which will be closed for 9 months as a result, will begin within the next three years, though no specific date has yet been confirmed.

The new 24-hour store would employ 390 staff and an additional 200 employees would be employed as a consequence of the development.

The new store would be raised above the level of the current building and would incorporate underground car parking

Tesco's competitors, Morrison's, have hit out at the proposals, saying that Tesco's retail needs within Rochdale will be met by their new store in Middleton and that town centre retail could suffer as a result of the development.