First idea of how Tesco Express will look in Longton as work starts on former Blundells shop
Blundells closed at the end of October 2025, after 77 years in the village.
Villagers have been given the first glimpse of what Longton’s Tesco Express will be like, this week.
The supermarket giant, which has confirmed it is taking over the former Blundell’s hardware shop in Liverpool Road, has submitted plans for the installation of two new standard air conditioning units at the rear of the premises, enclosed on three sides with protective railing, one new Remote Ultra Low Noise Gas cooler, a new acoustic screen and a corner acoustic panel.
It comes as work has started on remodelling the 1930s building, with metal fencing up at the site and a partial demolition underway, exposing doorways to flats above the retail premises.
The Tesco plans, verified by South Ribble Borough Council this week, show that a noise assement report for the work was completed in September 2025, a month before Blundells closed, and well before owner Nick Thompson told the Post he’d “had a few companies express an interest in it”, but that he needed to upgrade and extend the shop to be in a position where it could be rented out.
Noise
The noise assessment states that the rear of the residential dwellings at the end of Tuson Croft are located between 8m and 11m from the proposed plant area at the rear of the store. But it states: “The proposed refrigeration equipment has been designed to meet the specific requirements of the Local Development Plan. It will be necessary to install the AC units within acoustic enclosures.
“The resultant noise levels from the proposed mechanical equipment will result in noise levels that comply in full with the Local Plan and are at levels that are very unlikely to give rise to complaints from residents.
The drawings submitted by Tesco also show that the main entrance to the shop will remain in the same place, and that one disabled parking space will be provided in the car park, near the left-hand wall, as the building is viewed from the front.
Planned changes
Nick Thompson’s upgrade plans were passed by South Ribble Borough Council on April 20. They consist of a single-storey extension to the rear of the existing retail unit to provide storage and staff welfare facilities to allow the sales area to be extended into the existing stockroom and staff areas.
Mr Thompson also wants to make alterations to the eastern side of the building, including the removal of the existing storeroom and office to improve the car park and external servicing areas.
The external storage area will be reduced and altered to allow the car park to be enlarged and allow offstreet deliveries. The car park currently provides 11 parking spaces and delivery vehicles including large lorries currently offload goods at the roadside on a bend in the road.
The improvements to the parking area will provide 15 customer and staff parking spaces, two spaces for the residential flats above the shop and will allow commercial delivery vehicles to enter and manoeuvre within the site and unload within the curtilage of the premises.
The materials used for the extension will tie in with the existing building, including the use of blue slate, and off-white rendered brickwork, with sandstone copings. Windows and doors are to be painted in anthracite grey.
When will it be open?
A Tesco spokesperson said: “We’re planning to open a new Tesco Express store in Longton later this year. We look forward to welcoming customers to the store and will keep the local community updated with our plans as we get closer to opening.”
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