THE Co-op supermarket plans for a new, larger, £600,000 food store at Newcastle Emlyn have been approved by Carmarthenshire planners.

The new store will be located on New Road between Cawdor Cars and the fire station and will include customer car parking and enable Co-op to offer an enhanced range and choice.

The Co-op currently occupies a site on the main road through the town at Sycamore Street but there is no parking available and there are frequent complaints of people parking illegally to pop into the shop.

A planning application for the store at the former New Road Antiques site was submitted to Carmarthenshire County Council earlier this year and has now been approved subject to conditions.

The new Co-op store will be approximately double the size of its existing smaller store on Sycamore Road, which would relocate. It will employ 18 full-time staff.

The scheme proposes redevelopment of the existing building including extension, alterations and associated external works.