A SUPERMARKET giant has announced it will close a busy store in a seaside town.

In what is a huge blow to the area, company bosses at Sainsbury’s have announced its shop in Clacton High Street will shut next year.

It is believed the store will close as soon as January.

The move comes around one year after the supermarket chain revealed plans to axe 15 stores within two years, but also open ten new ones over the next five years.

Some Clacton residents believe the decision is a result of the lease on the Sainsbury’s building coming to an end.

But the store has been a big part of the town for years and will be missed by residents and visitors to the area.

Some staff could lose their jobs, however supermarket bosses hope to relocate them to other Sainsbury's in the area.

A spokesman for Sainsbury's said: “We have updated colleagues on the difficult decision to close our Clacton store.

“We are doing everything we can to find alternative roles within Sainsbury’s for those affected.

“Customers can continue to shop with us online, or at our St John’s Road store in Clacton, which is a short drive away.”

Read more >>> ‘Supermarket closure is mind bogglingly bad for our town’

The closure follows last year’s addition of a Lidl supermarket at the out-of-town Brook Park West, which sits opposite Brook Retail Park’s Tesco store.

Plans are also in place to build another retail park on the three-acre site next to Waterglade Retail Park, in Old Road.

It is expected to include a new tyre centre, gym, and drive-thru restaurant, and several retailers have already signed up, such as Toolstation, Subway, P1 Pitstop, Ableworld and Bedworld.