Welcome
This website will provide updates and information about our exciting plans to transform and extend the Tonbridge supermarket into the former Beales store next door.
We want every customer to look forward to and enjoy each visit to our stores. As well as creating around 50 new jobs in-store, the expansion will provide a major boost to the whole supermarket’s look and feel and will dramatically increase the range of products available for customers.
We’re delighted to share our plans to transform Sainsbury’s Tonbridge, which will put to great use a space that we appreciate has been empty for some time.
Before / After Site Plan Images
What's new?
Improvements that customers can look forward to in-store will include:
- A bespoke new front-and-centre fresh food offer that is designed to help more customers discover the joy of food
- Hundreds of delicious new products throughout revamped aisles
- A much more extensive non-food department including Sainsbury’s much-loved Habitat and Tu Clothing ranges
- A store that customers can enjoy shopping in, featuring wider aisles and checkout areas, comfortable new toilets and improved glazing to create a bright and welcoming environment
- An improved Argos store that will continue to allow customers to shop from thousands of home products in technology, toys, gaming and electricals while picking up their groceries
- EV users can look forward to the arrival of six ultra-rapid EV charging points as part of the roll-out of Sainsbury’s recently launched Smart Charge brand
Sustainability
Sustainability is a big driving factor in the design process of our new stores and the proposals will allow us to bring Sainsbury’s Tonbridge in line with this goal.
Our 'Plan for Better' report sets out our sustainability commitments to be better for the planet. Our next level Tonbridge store will help us achieve these commitments through a range of environmental upgrades.
It will operate using 100% renewable electricity with no fossil fuels. Heat pumps will keep chilled cabinets, cold stores, and heating systems cool and warm all year long. The roof will have a full coverage of solar panels to generate energy.
In store, there will be refrigeration, ventilation, and heating systems that work together, to reduce heating and improve store comfort. This will help achieve our goal of being net-zero in our operations by 2035.
Community
We are committed to investing in Tonbridge, and Sainsbury’s will be looking to recruit roughly 50 new colleagues from the local area to join the new store team.
The job opportunities will vary across a wide range of departments, from entry to management level. Sainsbury’s pay all of its colleagues the Living Wage and recently announced an increase in base colleague pay to £12 an hour.
We are committed to providing access to affordable, nutritious, diverse, food to help make future generations and our planet healthier for longer. We believe everyone should enjoy good food and we aim to help our customers achieve healthier, more sustainable dietary shifts by unlocking barriers and, through collaboration, driving systems level change. Via our national collaboration with Neighbourly, we are currently partnered with five local food donation partners in and around Tonbridge and we are looking forward to growing our food donation capacity in line with the store.
We want to work with the local community to deliver the best possible store for Tonbridge – have your say using the link below.
We would be grateful for any feedback you could provide on our proposals, you can access the feedback form here.
