OVER 1,200 people have applied for jobs at the landmark John Lewis at home and Waitrose store which is set to open this autumn.

The John Lewis Partnership has announced that over 1,200 people have applied for 369 retail roles at its £6million 73,000 sq ft development in Basing View.

The co-located store, which is only the third of its kind in the history of the partnership, will include the John Lewis at home store and a Waitrose store which will feature a juice bar, a wine and beer bar where customers can enjoy tapas and deli platters, as well as a bakery cafe.

Rebekah Hawley, personnel growth manager at John Lewis said the company had been “highly impressed” with the quality of applicants, adding: “We are excited about bringing the next stage of retail growth to the area and central to this change will be our new partners.

“We are proud to offer in-depth training and career development for all of our Basingstoke partners, from selling assistants to our specialist advisor roles.”

The council’s Cabinet member for finance and resources, Councillor John Izett, added: “Over 300 new jobs for local people is one of the big wins that the new store will bring to our residents.

“Attracting the UK’s largest John Lewis at home combined with a Waitrose supermarket is a fantastic coup for Basingstoke and the borough generally.”

John Lewis PLC and Waitrose Limited have also submitted premises licence applications to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, requesting permission to sell alcohol at the store.

Waitrose has applied for permission to sell alcohol both on and off the premises between 7am and 11pm, Monday to Sunday. It proposes to sell alcohol for consumption off the site and on site in the partners dining room, the customer cafe and the wine and beer bar on the ground floor.

John Lewis has applied for permission to sell alcohol for consumption off the site between 7am and 22.30pm, Monday to Saturday and between 10am and 6pm on Sundays.

A spokesman for John Lewis said: “The applications come as another important step for this new development, which is on track for an autumn opening.

“We are very excited to become a part of Basingstoke’s ever-growing business community and we’ve made great progress with the shop opening plans so far, and look forward to confirming the opening date in coming weeks.”

The application process for jobs at the John Lewis at home store has closed but people interested in jobs at the Waitrose store can still apply by visiting www.jlpjobs.com.