THE Morrisons supermarket chain is staying resolutely tight-lipped on its plans for Helensburgh’s former Waitrose supermarket – despite being pressed for an opening date by the town’s MSP.

Jackie Baillie said she believed local shoppers would be “disappointed” at the company’s silence.

Ms Baillie says that according to Morrisons, contractors will move on to the site soon.

But she said she would go on pushing the firm for a timetable for the Cardross Road building to open to the public, more than three months after the site was vacated.

The supermarket, opposite Hermitage Academy, closed as a Waitrose store at the beginning of May, and Morrisons took over the site in June.

READ MORE: Helensburgh faces long wait for Morrisons as Waitrose store gets set to close down

But there’s still been no public statement from the Bradford-based groceries giant on when the building might open to the public.

Having received an update from Ms Baillie, the Advertiser has now contacted Morrisons three times to seek comment on the MSP’s statement - and a reply had yet to be received as this article was published.

Ms Baillie said: “Having been in regular contact with Morrisons, they inform me that their contractors will be on site shortly to begin to identify the work needed.

“I know many people in Helensburgh are eager to shop in their new Morrisons and will be disappointed that there is still no definitive date for the store to open.

READ MORE: 'Everybody is raging' – furious Waitrose staff react to Helensburgh store closure news

“I will continue to push them for a timetable.

“In the meantime, until the store opens, Morrisons has added their Dumbarton store to their pick-up service, which means people from Helensburgh will be able to shop online with Morrisons and have their shopping delivered.”

Ms Baillie previously said she expected local shoppers to be without access to a second supermarket in the town “for a few months”.

Waitrose announced in March that its Helensburgh store was to close with the loss of more than 120 jobs, with Morrisons confirming it had bought the property later that same month.

Other stores in England earmarked for closure won a reprieve due to the pandemic, but the firm insisted it could not reverse the decision to shut the Burgh supermarket.

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