A new Sainsbury's store is just days away from opening its doors for the first time.

The Shirley precinct supermarket will replace the old Sainsbury's, in Park Street, as part of a £12m scheme to revitalise the area.

About 180 new jobs will be created, bringing the total workforce for the store up to 280. The old shop will close for good on Wednesday after 42 years in the district.

But the new 27,500sq ft shop will open on Thursday morning with a deli counter, bakery, meat counter and extended range of CDs, DVDs and books.

It also has a cash machine, new customer toilets and a restaurant. The opening marks the winding down of months of disruption for traders.

Some reported business plummeting by as much as 50 per cent as shoppers were deterred by building work and closed car parks.

Now, though, the end is in sight.

Work is forging ahead on the "S for Shirley" public art seating area in the new piazza, existing shops have been refurbished and the £1m revamped library has opened.

The car park has been resurfaced and repainted, the housing office has undergone a facelift and two new retail units are being built.

New tenants look set to include Bon Marche, Perfect Pizza and sandwich shop Subway.

Sainsbury's store manager Simon Rowberry told the Daily Echo: "I can say with confidence that customers will love what they see. The redevelopment has also been great news as it will vastly improve the Shirley precinct and help revitalise the town centre. "Everyone has been working really hard to get the store ready for the opening, and I can't wait to see customer reactions to the new and improved supermarket."

Mr Rowberry is due to cut the ribbon to officially open the store at 9am on Thursday.