CLOSE to 200 jobs have already been filled at Portishead’s new Sainsbury’s – but there are still 70 vacancies available with opening day now just weeks away.

The long-awaited £15million supermarket will open at the end of October, some five years after the chain first unveiled its plans to build a store in the town.

The planning process has been beset by problems – including a legal challenge from nearby Co-Operative, and a delay to allow newts living on the site to be rehomed – but is now in its final stages.

New local links with the likes of Gordano School and Alliance Homes have helped fill the majority of positions, but bosses at the new 30,000sq ft store and adjoining petrol station are still on the look-out for more recruits from around Portishead, Clevedon and Nailsea.

Paul Morrison, manager of the new Serbert Road store, said: “It’s getting very exciting; the store and petrol station are coming together and we have recruited around three-quarters of the 250 colleagues who will be working in the store. They are currently being given Sainsbury’s specialist training ahead of opening.

“The standard of applications has been excellent, with most of the candidates coming from Portishead but we have applicants from Nailsea and Clevedon too.

“We still have more jobs to fill including full and part-time positions, online delivery drivers, café and counter positions such as on the deli, pizza and food to go.

“No retail experience or specific qualifications are necessary. It’s all about having the right attitude and being a people person. We provide all the training required.”

People in Portishead have long told the Times of the need for the new Sainsbury’s, and in particular an additional petrol station.

Queues for the town’s only filling station in Station Road frequently cause jams around the Cabstand junction, while readers have previously said ‘a bit of competition can only be good for the customer’.