A TESCO Express store is opening on a new Basingstoke housing development.

Construction has begun on the new convenience store at the Hounsome Fields housing development on the A30 Winchester Road.

Plans to build a shop at the site where 750 homes are being built were approved by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council in 2021.

READ MORE: Final road closures announced before £20m Brighton Hill Roundabout scheme is complete

Now, it has been revealed that Tesco will occupy the unit after the supermarket chain was granted permission to install a sign on the new store. 

The new store is being built on a 0.34ha piece of land formerly used for agriculture, adjacent to the A30 on the east of the new spine road and directly north of the new roundabout. It will border the planned new primary school site to the north.

Vehicular access will be provided via the spine road to the west and a shared surface car park will provide a through route to parking and a servicing area directly outside of the store.

SEE ALSO: Former Basingstoke police sergeant charged with sex offences in police stations

The new single-storey shop is being built on the corner of the A30 and the new spine road, providing space for a 2,600sq ft store and 1,425sq ft back of house.

It will also include staff parking, servicing and refuge collection points along with 20 parking spaces for customers.

The store will be constructed from red brick and timber effect weatherboarding to be in keeping with the homes being built.

Aluminium windows will provide a large frontage and there will be a service area to provide space for deliveries.

Three cycle stands and two accessible parking spaces will be provided in front of the store along with one parent and child space.

A planning application from Pegasus Group said: “This retail unit will be a vital local facility, in a sustainable and logical location. All new residents within the wider scheme will be only a few minutes’ walk or cycle from the store, while adequate visitor parking will allow passers-by an opportunity to stop and shop.”

Currently, the closest shops to residents at Hounsome Fields are Sainsbury's supermarket and Lidl at the nearby Hatch Warren Retail Park or The Co-Operative Food store in Beggarwood. 

A Tesco spokesperson said: “We’re excited to confirm that a new Tesco Express store in Basingstoke will open in the coming months. We will keep the local community updated with our plans as they progress and we look forward to serving them soon.”