Clearance work has begun at a former Chester retail park to make way for the new Waitrose supermarket which will open next year.

Waitrose has planning consent to transform the Boughton Retail Centre site into the largest Waitrose in the county, complete with a 320-space underground car park plus new shops and bars lining the A51.

The plans will also see the former St Paul’s Primary School site turned into a 120-bedroom hotel and new office blocks.

Waitrose says the development will bring more than 400 jobs to the city and fill a ‘deficiency’ in its portfolio, given it is currently only represented by the convenience store in Foregate Street which opened two years ago.

Company spokesman Rob Cadwell confirmed clearance, demolition and ground works were underway ready for building work to start next spring, following site and soil investigations earlier in the year.

He said work was “all on track” for the supermarket to open before Christmas 2014, adding: “We’re certainly very keen to open our first full-size shop in Chester!”

Barr Construction will build the new supermarket having successfully built a new Waitrose store in Helensburgh, Scotland.

Nigel Keen, director of development for Waitrose, said: “We have quickly established an excellent relationship with Barr and are looking forward to building on that success with our new shop in Chester. They have a clear understanding of our brand values and the high standards we deliver to customers.”

The Chester store will be Barr Construction’s fifth Waitrose project in the UK.

Derek Simpson, operations manager at Barr, he said: “The Chester contract win is a testament to our track record of delivering stores for the major retail chains over the past 20 years.”