Sainsbury's considers Uppingham for Neighbourhood Hub style store

Sainsbury's is considering Uppingham as a location for a new style of store.

A Sainsbury's spokesman confirmed it was considering Uppingham Gate, close to the A47, for a new Neighbourhood Hub style store.

The vision for Neighbourhood Hub stores is to be the best “in neighbourhood” one-stop offer, and are bigger than convenience stores and more food-led. The new stores also cater to the shift seen throughout the pandemic across customer behaviour towards longer shopping missions.

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: “We are assessing a range of potential locations for our Neighbourhood Hub store format, including a site at Uppingham Gate.

"We’ll keep the community updated on our plans once we are able to share more details.”

The first Neighbourhood Hub store opened in 2019 in Woodhall Spa and has opened six more since then. Most of the hubs feature an Argos Click and Collect facility.

It is not the first time Sainsbury's has shown an interest in opening in Rutland. It previously planned to build in Barleythorpe at the former Rutland County College site but eventually sold the site to Lidl, which has since opened a shop.

Sainsbury's has stores in Stamford and Bourne.