SAINSBURY'S has announced it has reached a deal with HGV company Rothdean to buy its 25 acre site in Station Street, Cinderford, for an intended multi-million pound 32,000 sq ft store.

If planning is approved, it will be the first Sainsbury's in the Forest. The store may also have stolen a march on its main rivals, including Tesco and Asda, who may be bidding for a 30,000 sqare foot foodstore on the Eddie Coombes site on Steam Mills Road abutting nearby Valley Road.

It is understood the deal will allow the family run Rothdean HGV business which has been trading in Cinderford for 20 years and employs around 50 people to invest in a new site in the town.

Caroline Vickerstaff, regional development surveyor for Sainsbury's said: "We believe our values and heritage make Sainsbury's an ideal fit for Cinderford. The store will create up to 270 long-term employment opportunities."

Lionel Jones, managing director of Rothdean, said: "This proposal is a breath of fresh air for Cinderford and for Rothdean. Not only is our Station Street site perfect for a supermarket, it will bring more jobs to the town and is in a convenient location.

"We have ambitious plans for growth and by selling our site to Sainsbury's, subject to planning permission, we will be investing in the future of Rothdean as well as helping to support Cinderford."

After years of stagnation and delays, the announcement of a proposed Sainsbury's, the expansion of BASF's production, the building of a state of the art Ensor's abbatoir and the possible building of a Gloucestershire College campus in the Northern Quarter, these are "exciting times" says Cllr Graham Morgan.

He says councillors were first told about the Sainsbury's deal last Friday and residents in a wide area surrounding the site had also received letters.

•These are exciting times for Cinderford. At last there seems to be a real dash for regeneration. It's all happening and perhaps this time round Cinders really will go to the ball."

•Alongside the new store Sainsbury's hopes to get permission for 20 new flats on the Rothdean site to be built by another company. A public exhibition of the plans will be held later this month to allow people to give their views.

•A 32,000 sq ft store is roughly the equivalent to the Morrisons in Ross-onWye.