A family firm has moved into Wallingford’s former Waitrose store. Household store Circle 7 has moved into the unit, which has been empty since the supermarket moved to the other end of the Market Place five years ago.

Director Harpreet Samra, 31, and wife Sharn, 31, said the shop, part of a ten-strong chain in the Thames Valley, would sell hardware, kitchenware, home furnishings and bedding.

Circle 7 was unable to secure the lease for a 3,000 sq ft section adjoining the post office, which is still owned by Waitrose, but will have a rolling two-year lease on the remaining 11,000 sq ft, owned by Co-op Property Group.

Mr Samra said the firm planned to stay in the town long term, but there was still uncertainty about the site’s future.

He said: “There are still long-term redevelopment plans. Because it could all change tomorrow, it has limited the length of lease that Co-op will offer.”

Mrs Samra said: “We have taken on shops in worse condition. We are quite fast and have some experience.

“It helps that the town has been so supportive. We have had a lot of help from the town clerk and the mayor, who came down on the day we completed the agreement. That takes a lot of pressure off.”

She added: “The moment we saw the town, we knew it would be good for us.

“There is nothing like our shop already here and even when we came to view it, so many people were asking about what our shop was, what we would sell and when we would open.”

She said the firm would recruit staff and anyone interested should leave their CVs at the store.

The mayor of Wallingford, Dee Cripps, said: “I’m very pleased to see the building occupied at last.

“This should help to revitalise this part of the town centre.

“It is unfortunate that in the current economic climate it has not been possible to achieve a comprehensive redevelopment on site, or the establishment of a second food retailer in the town.

“However, these objectives still remain the longer-term vision of the town council.”