SUPERMARKET giant Tesco is to open a fourth store in Brentwood following the closure of yet another pub.
The firm took possession of the Warley Tavern, on Warley Hill, yesterday and will now convert the pub into an Express outlet.
Tesco has two existing stores of this type, on The Broadway in Shenfield and at the Esso filling station in London Road.
As previously reported in the Gazette, another Express store is due to open next month on the site of the former Woodpecker pub, at the junction of Hanging Hill Lane and Hutton Drive.
Tesco does not need planning permission to turn the Warley Tavern, formerly owned by brewery Greene King, into a supermarket.
A spokesman said the new store would create up to 20 jobs and would benefit other businesses by increasing footfall on Warley Hill.
However, independent traders fear they will be unable to compete with the supermarket giant, saying that business closures and job losses are highly likely.
Resident Linda Price, 64, hit out at what she called the firm's "corporate greed," while Warley borough councillor William Lloyd said: "On this occasion, Tesco will further damage an already difficult time for local traders."
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