Groundbreaking ceremony for long-awaited IKEA store

A groundbreaking ceremony has taken place to mark the progress of work on Exeter's new IKEA store, which is taking shape off Newcourt Way.

It will be the UK's 21st store and will mean the end of long trips to Bristol or Southampton. Shoppers have been waiting for the Swedish furniture and furnishings chain to arrive in the city for some 17 years. The £80m store is finally due to open in summer 2018.

The store will create 350 jobs, some of which are already being advertised. They include an HR administrator and customer restaurant manager, who will not doubt be serving up some those famous Swedish meatballs.

What the store will look like Credit: IKEA

IKEA Exeter will be the firm's most sustainable store so far and will aim to achieve 100% renewable energy. It will use a number of green technologies such as solar panels on the roof, rainwater harvesting and ground source heating. Electric vehicles will be used for home deliveries.

Cllr Peter Edwards from Exeter City Council is delighted that construction will begin very shortly.