FOREST of Dean stone and quarrying company Forest Pennant are celebrating the completion of production of the new cladding for a prestigious new development.

It is the new Waitrose and John Lewis shops in Stratford City, East London, adjacent to the new Olympic Stadium complex.

The stone, which is quarried at Bixslade in the centre of the Forest, forms the new rain proofing for the new building – which houses a 21,000 square foot Waitrose, plus a colossal 260,000 square foot John Lewis store.

They form part of a huge new shopping centre called the Westfield Centre, and the John Lewis/Waitrose section alone will eventually employ over 1,000 people between the two concerns.