A NEW Co-operative store being built in Barrhead will create 15 new jobs.

What was once a petrol station in Paisley Road is set to become home to a Co-op newsagents before the end of the year.

Co-op has confirmed it will start a recruitment process for both full-time and part-time positions in the near future ahead of the festive season.

The business – which is returning to the town 150 years on from the opening of its original Barrhead store in Main Street – is on the lookout for team leaders, customer team members and in-store bakery workers.

Offering a bakery range, beers, wines, spirits and a bank machine, the store will place a focus on fresh food meal ideas and essentials.

Barrhead’s new Co-op will occupy derelict land where a drive-through coffee shop once stood four years ago.

The opening of the Paisley Road store will coincide with Co-op unveiling a new membership offer.

Members will receive a five per cent reward each time they purchase Co-op’s own-branded products and services, with a further one per cent going to local groups that make a difference in the area.

Customers can choose which cause they wish to support online and an employee of the Barrhead store’s food team will be tasked with developing an involvement in community activities.

David MacDougall, Co-op area manager, said: “We are thrilled to have made such a significant investment in Barrhead and delighted that we have a fantastic new food store with which to serve the community – it is an exciting time for the whole team.

“The Co-operative is a community retailer and we are committed to playing an active role in local life, embracing the area’s community spirit.”

Various proposals for the site of Barrhead’s new Co-op have been discussed and subsequently rejected in the past, including several retail developments.

A number of plans were also rejected at planning level as a result of concerns about of pedestrian safety and inadequate parking and traffic management in the area.

However, a proposal to build a medium-sized retail store was approved late last year and the Co-op was granted a licence for the property in March.

The new Co-op is expected to be completed in the run-up to Christmas.

Meanwhile, latest labour market statistics indicate the number of people living in East Renfrewshire who are in employment is well above the national average.

The Office for National Statistics figures show that of the 47,100 residents aged between 16 and 64, more than just over 80 per cent were in work between last July 2015 and June this year.

Nationwide Scotland-wide, an average of 77.2 per cent of the working-age population had a job during the this analysis period, while the figure for the UK as a whole of the Great Britain was 77.9 per cent.