MORE than 200 permanent jobs are set to come to the area when Tesco finally opens its doors in Helsby.

Despite a six-month delay, the supermarket is still on course to regenerate the region as part of the Mere's Edge development.

As work started to put in roads and sewers across the whole site, developers Brookhouse said the store would now open next 'autumn at the earliest'.

Jim Banfi, company secretary of Brookhouse, said they were still ironing out 'design issues' with Tesco before submitting a final planning application to Vale Royal Borough Council.'

Shaun Edgeley, corporate affairs manager for Tesco, said the medium-sized store would create 200-250 permanent jobs. 'We would expect the majority to go to local people,' he said.

'There may also be temporary jobs. A lot depends on when we open. If we open just before Christmas it is inevitable that we would end up with temporary staff.'

The Tesco store was originally scheduled to open in Easter 2005.

Mr Edgeley said: 'It was always dependent on the planning process and it takes about 30 weeks to build. As far as we're concerned the planning process normally takes about two years, so we're still about on the schedule we were expecting.'

He said the company was still 'absolutely' looking forward to coming to Helsby.

'People who live in Helsby or the surrounding villages have to go somewhere else for a major supermarket so people are travelling miles out of town to do their shopping,' he said. 'I think it will be a big benefit to the area.'

Sylvia Crossley-Jones, chairwoman of Helsby Parish Council, welcomed the planned creation of local jobs. 'It's good news all round,' she said. 'We need a shop of that ilk around here because there are other villages like Manley and Norley and Delamere which will have access to it.

'Whether they will arrange for transport provision I don't know.'

Cllr Crossley-Jones said she was not disappointed with the delay in opening the store. 'They have got many things that they have had to sort out and it is better they take their time and get it right.'

Mr Banfi, who said in July the final reserve matters application would happen 'very shortly', this week repeated the words. 'It is anticipated that it won't take very long when it goes through,' he said.

'We haven't allowed that time to be unproductive. We have started all the infrastructure and remediation work needed on the site. They are due to be finished in February, and they would have to be done before the Tesco work anyway.

'The design of the remediation scheme has proved to be more complex at the level of negotiating with the Environment Agency and other parties. It was always going to be, being a brownfield site used for industrial purposes like that.'

Vale Royal Borough Council gave Brookhouse permission to start the remediation work last week.

Now that they have been given the all-clear, other areas of the Mere's Edge site can progress, including the 71 housing units.

'The residential site is now being marketed to a select group of house builders and we are expecting a very strong response to that,' said Mr Banfi. 'Once we have received all the requisite returns then we will select a particular house-builder.'

He said they were awaiting the determination of a planning application for 34 apartments at the security area of the site, opposite the Co-op. 'We hope to get that sometime later this month,' he added.