Waitrose gets permission for Ipswich Corn Exchange shop

The proposed Waitrose store would be on the corner of Princes Street and King Street

Supermarket Waitrose has been granted planning permission to build a store in Ipswich's Corn Exchange & Town Hall entertainment complex.

Labour-run Ipswich Borough Council, which owns the building, has approved the scheme despite opposition from some arts groups.

The proposal originated under the previous Conservative and Liberal Democrat administration.

Waitrose said the shop should be open by Christmas, creating up to 60 jobs.

The council's planning committee voted unanimously in favour of the proposal to convert one corner of the building, which had previously been a bar and exhibition area.

Waitrose has a separate plan to build a supermarket on the former Cranes industrial site in east Ipswich, but a planning application has yet to be submitted for that.