Traders' anger at new-look Co-op

The store reopened yesterday (Thursday) with Brendan Cole, of TV's Strictly Come Dancing cutting the ribbon.

The 3m transformation of the store and centre has created 30 new jobs with the arrival of a new Co-operative Travel, the Co-operative Bank, a Fairtrade espresso bar, an improved deli and the introduction of a bakery.

But travel agents ME Travel, which has a shop in the centre, is circulating leaflets to thousands of homes in the area to express its anger at the new additions.

As the Meridian Centre only houses the Co-operative supermarket and 16 other traders, director of ME Travel Mike Ellis said he was, 'understandably incensed' by the decision to open the travel outlet.

Mr Ellis told the Express: 'At the end of the day, it is the local residents who must decide who to favour with their custom.

'I can only hope they stop for a moment to consider the long-established local traders who have spent many years supporting the community and offering a very personal standard of service.'

The Co-operative, which owns the Meridian Centre, has spent most of the 3m upgrade on the store and 400,000 on the centre.

Peacehaven Chamber of Commerce vice-chairman Phil Merry said it seemed 'mighty unfair' to bring in two businesses which would be in direct competition with local traders.

The Long John Grill could also be affected by the Co-operative's espresso bar.

He said: 'We are very supportive of the work that has been carried out at The Co-op and it is a vast improvement. However, we are critical that they are opening up two businesses in direct competition with local traders.'

A spokesman for The Co-operative said: 'We have a duty to our customers to provide them with the best possible service and shopping experience. In this instance, this entails providing holidaymakers with the best possible choice of breaks, provided by our extremely knowledgeable travel advisors at The Co-operative Travel.

'In addition, the new Fairtrade espresso bar forms part of the group's larger store format featured in branches across the country. It is not unusual for neighbouring shops to sell the same products and we believe that additional customer choice is the basis of healthy competition.'