SUPERMARKET chain Aldi is still recruiting staff for its Trentham Lakes store.

And food retailer Subway has announced 16 jobs will be created when it opens a new branch in a unit on the site.

German discounter Aldi will open its store – the company's seventh in Stoke-on-Trent – on July 2.

A manager has already been appointed and 10 members of staff recruited, but there are still three store assistant positions available.

Subway is due to open in a smaller adjacent unit in early September and will require 16 full and part-time workers.

Other units remain empty, but are expected to be filled withconvenience shops.

Aldi area manager Kirsty Hale said: "There was some opposition to the store when it was going through planning but attitudes are changing.

"With the continuation of the credit crunch, many customers are turning to Aldi for the first time."

The site is part of the 400-acre former Hem Heath Colliery.

Initially the retail centre plan proved controversial and was rejected by planning officials as residents gathered a petition opposing the plans because they feared the supermarket would be too close to their homes.

Linda Mellor, of nearby Ovaldene Way, led a campaign focused on fears of noise, traffic, litter and pollution problems.

Yesterday she said: "The shops are built and if they want to lease them they will lease them and the residents will not have any say on that."

Developer St Modwen went into partnership with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to build the £3 million, 15,000 sq ft store, which is the anchor for the Norton Park District Centre on Stanley Matthews Way.

A Subway spokesman confirmed the chain had signed a lease to open a Trentham Lakes store.

He said: "It will be located in unit one and will open in early September, creating 16 full and part-time jobs for the area.

"The store is in an ideal and prominent location, with close proximity to other businesses.

"We have experienced great success in Stoke-on-Trent, and believe Trentham Lakes is an excellent location."