Co-op Funeral Services opening in Lidl in Drayton Road

East of England Co-operative submitted proposals to open a funeral services branch in Drayton Road. The site previously housed a Lidl store.

Under plans approved by Norwich City Council, the building will be transformed into four large areas – a customer and admin area, a service chapel area and two further large rooms.

The exterior has undergone a facelift, with large portions of the building covered in wood cladding and the rest repainted.

Signs have appeared for the new Funeral Services in Drayton Road (Image: Denise Bradley) The current large windows have been replaced and new entrances built.

Large East of England Co-op Funeral Services signs have been placed around the site and barriers remain around the building.

Fencing remains around the site, which looks almost ready to open (Image: Denise Bradley) When the plans for the funeral services were first announced, a company spokesman confirmed: "Work has started on site for a new East of England Co-op Funeral branch in Norwich, set to open for the local community later this year."

While work on the building is under way, no opening date has been released for the site.

READ MORE: Former supermarket to become funeral home... and plans to hold services

The company first applied to make changes to the supermarket site in May after the large store had sat empty for more than a year.

The plans for the site first emerged in May (Image: Denise Bradley) Chrissie Rumsby, Labour county councillor for Mile Cross, said: "I would have hoped it would be an East of England Co-operative shop rather than funeral services, but I hope that it will create some jobs for the local people.

"The Lidl was very popular and it would have been really good to have the site remain a cheap supermarket of some kind.

"It is a huge building that has been closed for a long time and I welcome the news that it is going to be used."