It was announced a week ago that the new Co-op in Bridge of Allan will open Friday October 2, following delays in constructions and months without updates.
The opening date was originally subject to change due to mandatory final inspections and acquiring necessary building certificates.
Now it has been confirmed that the store will go ahead with its opening this Friday and a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10am.
The previous Co-op was shut down in August last year for demolition. In replacement Co-op launched a £5 million project to provide Bridge of Allan with a new store and parking lot.
Andy Baird, Co-op’s divisional operations director, told The Courier:
“We are delighted to invest in Bridge of Allan.
The whole team is excited at the prospect of welcoming the community into their brand new Co-op. The new store looks fantastic…”
With a size of over 10,000 square feet across two floors, the new store will offer multiple additional services. These include a Costa Express, a Stephens Bakery, key cutting, package collection services as well as an ATM.
Additionally, the expanded parking lot will also include EV charging stations.
The new store will have the daily opening times of 7am to 10pm.
With the temporary store closing in July this summer, Bridge of Allan has been without a food shop or ATM for over 3 months.
“…people deserve some certainty about when it will finally reopen.”
Despite claiming to announce an opening date in “the coming weeks”, back in July, locals received little information, with the last prognosis being to open in autumn 2026.
It wasn’t until late September, a week prior, that the Coop announced the preliminary date.
Brig spoke to local Counsellor David Wilson prior to the recent opening date announcement. He said:
“People in Bridge of Allan were expecting the new Co-op to be open by now, so it is understandable that residents are asking what has caused the delay. There has been very little information publicly, and I think Co-op now needs to give the community a clear explanation of what work remains outstanding and, most importantly, a realistic date for the store to open.
The Co-op is an important shop for Bridge of Allan, particularly for residents who do not have easy access to a car, so people deserve some certainty about when it will finally reopen.”
The announcement of the target opening date was made in a recent Courier article. There have as of yet been no updates posted on the projects official website since July 2026.
Featured Image Credit: Kristina Wikensten
2nd year History & Journalism Student at the University of Stirling. Moved over from Sweden in 2024 to study in Scotland.
