Tesco Express due to open in High Wycombe's Eden Centre

The supermarket, which will be based in the Eden Centre, is due to unveil itself to the public by October 31 where it will stay in the shopping complex for 12 months.

The town’s current Tesco store, which is situated along Newland Street, will be closed for the next year as renovation works begin.

The move is to allow the upper floors of the current Tesco building to be repurposed into council offices and as the new home of the county archives.

The archives are currently stored at the council’s Walton Street offices in Aylesbury, but the rooms housing the documents and artefacts – some of which are 800 years old – have reached capacity.

The outlet will be based in the Eden Centre (Image: NQ)

This means the supermarket will be transformed into a one-storey shop, from a two-story shop.

The reconstruction of the unit is expected to last 12 months, and images obtained by the Free Press show that the new store is nearly finished, with signage, lights and shelves being installed.

John Chilver, the council’s cabinet member for accessible housing and resources said: “This is fantastic news for High Wycombe residents.

“Not only do they retain a much-used supermarket, they will also benefit from the relocation of an important cultural and historical treasure trove, right on their doorstep in the form of the Buckinghamshire Archives.

“We know how important this supermarket is to residents and helping to ensure its retained presence in the heart of the town centre provides a clear indication of our commitment to supporting positive change within the town.”

The store is replacing the Newland Street outlet which will be closed for one year (Image: NQ)

The new store will be based directly opposite Waterstone’s, whilst other chains will be in close proximity.

These include the likes of Sports Direct, Marks & Spencer and the gadget shop, MenKind.

Despite the temporary measure, not many people are happy about the relocation, or the fact that the unit will be turned into a council office.

Jenny Corton said: “Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire and the archives should all be kept here.

It will be in the heart of the Eden Centre (Image: NQ)

“We have lots of unused council buildings gathering dust, so it makes no sense whatsoever to squander High Wycombe's allocated improvement funds to transfer the archives over there.”

David Alan Taylor added: “This makes no sense.

“There is surely council-owned property with ample space from the merger of the previous councils that formed Bucks Council?”

No exact date for the official opening has been set, but it is due to open this month.