It was promised it would re-open by Christmas but now Tesco are unable to give a date when the Cowley Road store will be back in action.

The store closed in March for 30 weeks as part of highly-controversial plans to build 137 student flats above it.

At one point the supermarket was aiming to reopen in late October but that has slipped.

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Later the retail giant looked forward “to welcoming customers back to the new store at the end of November.”

This week a Tesco spokesperson said: “We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused by the temporary closure of our Cowley Road Express store.

"The upgraded store will help us better serve the community and we look forward to welcoming customers back once construction is complete.

“We will share the date in due course. We’ll be sure to give our customers plenty of notice about when the store is due to re-open.”

Plans to redevelop the supermarket were approved by Oxford City Council in 2019 despite objections from locals.

Residents were appalled when it was confirmed that staff from the Tesco Metro were being redeployed to other branches, leaving the busy East Oxford street with one less essential shop.

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In February, they shared their concerns about being forced to travel further afield to get their shopping.

Colin Hamilton, store director for Oxford Cowley Road, said: “We are excited to be planning a significant refresh of our store which will lead to a much-improved shopping experience for customers.

"We apologise for any inconvenience the temporary closure of the store causes and would like to reassure the community we’ll be back as soon as possible and providing our usual great service in a store which is fit for the future.”

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