WE WANT Waitrose! That's the plea from hundreds of shoppers who have signed a petition calling for the supermarket chain to take over the former Safeway store in Blandford.

Retired businesswoman Noelle Adeley from Milton Abbas is launching the campaign in a bid to inject a much-needed boost to the quality of life in the town.

"Blandford is a lovely town but always seems to be down at heel," she said. "Having a Waitrose here would be beneficial as it would not only mean choice, competition for the other stores and convenience for shoppers, but most importantly provide a vital boost."

Mrs Adeley is circulating the petition in villages around Blandford as well as the town centre itself. She hopes to have collected around 2,000 signatures by the end of next week.

Around 90 staff were made redundant when the Safeway store closed in April this year.

Since then, the town council has given its commitment to finding another retail outlet to take over.

Mayor Cllr Esme Butler said: "I hope the petition does prove successful as we desperately need to revive that area of the town.

"It's not just shoppers who are feeling the pinch but the taxi drivers are also suffering a knock-on effect."

Cllr Butler added: "We are asking the district council to promote the site through its economic development department."

A Waitrose spokeswoman said it was not currently looking into opening an outlet in the town.

"We are always interested in sites for new branches but we have no plans for Blandford."

First published: November 11, 2005