A NEW superstore opened its doors to shoppers in Verwood on Monday creating 50 new jobs.

The town’s existing branch of Morrisons has closed to make way for the chain’s new store, which is on the same Chiltern Drive site.

It is a specialist ‘craft skills academy’ branch, with staff trained in a range of traditional skills including butchery, bakery and flower arranging.

Verwood mayor Pat Morrow joined Dorset County Council leader and East Dorset’s Verwood councillor Spencer Flower and East Dorset District Council chairman Robin Cook to officially declare the supermarket open.

There will be two Morrisons supermarkets standing side by side for around three weeks at the Chiltern Drive site before the older building is knocked down to make way for a car park.

The new build has more than doubled the floor space at 64,771 square feet – 34,799 sq ft larger than the older supermarket.

New employees have undergone training on product knowledge to help advise customers and suggest cooking tips, food combinations and matching wines.

Store general manager Martin Rolfe said: “We wanted to create an experience that was different from other supermarkets, offering customers a fantastic range of fresh products at great value and excellent customer service.

“The team have worked hard to train as specialists in areas such as wine, butchery and bakery and the fresh market concept means that many products are created by these specialists in-store each morning.

“We’re delighted that, as a result of this new store opening, we have helped create new jobs in the local area, and are now looking forward to welcoming new shoppers into our Verwood store.”

The supermarket expansion was made possible through the sale of Verwood Leisure Centre land to Morrisons. Money from the deal was invested in building a huge new health and fitness suite at The Hub, contributing to the building of a new sports hall at Emmanuel Middle School and providing new sports pitches at Potterne Park.