A supermarket which has served a Swindon suburb for more than a century is set to close.

The store on the corner of Hawkins Street in Rodbourne has been a Co-op in one form or another for more than 110 years.

But all that is set to change this weekend, as it closes its doors for the final time on Saturday at 5pm.

The store had been placed up for sale for some time by owners Midcounties Co-operative, and staff members have told the Adver it has now been bought by new independent owners.

They intend to keep the building as a convenience store - just not a Co-op. 

All staff members have either been offered a job by the new owners, or elsewhere, Co-op confirmed.

A spokesperson for Midcounties Co-operative confirmed the impending closure, describing it as a "very difficult decision". 

They said: “The Midcounties Co-operative continues to invest in our food retail business, having opened 12 new stores over the last two years, investing more than £7.5 million.

"Our Board regularly reviews our property footprint to ensure we’re providing the best opportunity to deliver for our members and support local communities across the Midcounties region.

"As part of this work, it was identified that the Rodbourne Road Store no longer fit with the long-term strategy of the Society. Our Board therefore took the very difficult decision to place this property on the market and can confirm the site has now found a new owner.

"We look forward to continuing to serve our local communities within Your Co-op Food stores in the local area.”

Although the building will still be a shop serving the local area, the decision for Co-op to part ways with it ends a significantly long-running part of the area's history. 

Some of this has been documented by the Rodbourne Community History Group who have a selection of photos of the store in its various guises throughout the years available on its website.

This closure follows the closure of other prominent Co-op stores in Swindon, with 2022 seeing both the Gorse Hill store and Rodbourne Cheney store close. 

While the former Co-op building in Gorse Hill remains unused, the Rodbourne Cheney Co-op is now a Tesco.