The Roman clothes shop at the entrance to Southport Railway Station has now closed down, as work begins to transform the building into a new Tesco Express store.
It will be the third Tesco store in Southport with the new 50-52 Chapel Street venture joining existing stores on Eastbank Street and Albert Road.
The nearest Roman stores are now either 8 miles away in Preston or 18 miles away in Blackpool.
All the stock from the former Southport Roman store has now gone, with workers busy today clearing the premises.
Planning permission for the new Tesco Express store was granted by Sefton Council in July.
The investment comes at a busy time for Chapel Street and the town centre area, with the opening of The Fragrance Shop and the new One Below store in July.
Building work is currently taking place on the former BHS building on Chapel Street to create 30 new aparthotel rooms, new shops, a new bar and a new cafe.
Work is also taking place to open the new Hugo Lounge cafe as part of the development.
Nearby, the new look Southport Market opened in July following a £1.4million transformation; the new Beales department store opened on Lord Street in August; and a £1million redevelopment of the former Tasker Sports / Christ Church School building on Corporation is underway to create a new Techedia HQ with the creation of 75 new jobs.
The Tesco planning applications for Chapel Street called for the installation of a new shop front including a telescopic sliding door to the front of the building plus the display of three illuminated and three non-illuminated signs.
In his report, Sefton Council Chief Planning Officer Derek McKenzie wrote: “This application affects a unit adjacent to the Lord Street Conservation Area and within the buffer zone of several non-designated heritage assets. However I do not consider the proposed shopfront will cause any significant detrimental impact to these assets.
“The design of the shop front is acceptable and no harm would be created to the street scene.”
The works on site and any construction vehicles must not block the access to Southport Train Station Station, with access there required 24 hours a day.
There were no representations made by any of the new store’s neighbours.
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