A new £2.4m food store built on a former World War Two RAF airfield in Southam has opened to the public for the first time this week.

Hundreds of shoppers attended the launch on July 11 in the heart of Southam's Flying Fields development.

The impressive Heart of England Co-op store has been developed with the environment in mind. It boasts a host of green features from state-of-the-art solar panels to built-in bird and bat boxes.

Pupils from St Mary's Catholic Primary School took part in the opening ceremony, helping store manager Stella Turner to cut the ribbon. The Heart of England Co-op presented the school with a goodwill cheque for £500, with a further £200 donation being made to Southam Foodbank.

Free entertainment on 'take-off' day included facepainting sessions and bucket drumming workshops led by Top of the Rocks, a music business based in Warwick.

Heart of England Co-op chief executive Steve Browne says he is proud of the 3,000 sq ft store and shared: "This is a flagship branch as it's the first store we've opened in our new visual identity and marks the start of an exciting new brand rollout for us. The store is located in the heart of an amazing new community. A great deal of thought has gone into its offering to our customers and members.

"We have created 14 new jobs, and we specifically targeted people living in this locality."

Complimentary goodie bags were also handed to the first 200 customers.

Children were able to take part in a colouring competition and had selfies taken with Cooper the Bear.

In addition to a wide range of meat, dairy and grocery products, shoppers can enjoy a comprehensive selection of hot, frozen and chilled food, as well as chilled alcohol.

The store also boasts a Local at Heart range showcasing regional products.

Other features include manned and self-scanning check-out tills, parcel lockers, hot food to go from Deli Co, a Tango Ice Blast Machine, Smokin' Bean self-serve coffee, free wi-fi, a National Lottery point, PayPoint service and a food bank bin.

The 24-space car park is protected by security cameras and includes two bays for the disabled and three with EV chargers.

Steve Browne said he is particularly pleased with the new store's 'stand-out' green credentials:

Browne shared: "The environment is foremost in our thoughts whenever we launch a new building, and this is the greenest one we have ever created.

"It uses no natural gas, and the LED lighting has presence detection in the aisles which turns the lights on and off as shoppers enter and leave.

"On bright days the solar panels will be sufficient to run the store entirely off grid. We also engage in rainwater harvesting to keep our plants healthy and look after the local wildlife by having specialist bat and bird boxes built into both sides of the building."

The store conforms with the BREEAM 'Good' Standard criteria, exceeding regulatory levels in areas such as environmental performance, energy and resource efficiency, sustainable construction practices, waste reduction and recycling measures, ecological impact and biodiversity.

"Make no mistake, we have one long term aim in regard to our carbon footprint and that is to continually strive to reach net zero," added Browne.

Situated seven miles from Royal Leamington Spa and around 12 miles from Rugby, Flying Fields is a development of more than 500 homes with a community hall owned by Southam Town Council

To commemorate its heritage as a training base for pilots during WW2, many of the roads have been named after wartime aircraft. A large metal sculpture of a Wellington bomber stands at the entrance to the estate to further cement the present with the past.

"It's a buzzing new community and we feel both excited and privileged to be a big part of it," continued Browne.

The new store, which is on Spitfire Road, is open from 7am to 9pm every day.