The opening of the new large Tesco store in Ramsey has taken a step closer after an application was submitted for new signs.

But the supermarket giant remains tight-lipped over when the store, along with those in Onchan, Peel and the former Winerite in Douglas, will open.

Five of the nine new Tesco stores have already opened in Castletown, Douglas, Ramsey, Port Erin and Peel. The most recent opening was the Tesco in St Michael Street in Peel.

Now, Tesco has submitted an application for new illuminated signs at the Bowring store. However, there is no date yet for the store’s opening although it is set to start trading this month.

A Tesco spokesman told Media Isle of Man: ‘We’re excited to be opening more stores on the Isle of Man this year and will update the local communities once opening dates are confirmed.’

The Shoprite store in Ramsey closed on June 22 and is one of nine former Shoprite outlets to become Tesco stores.

The smaller Shoprite in the town’s St Paul’s Square became a Tesco earlier this year.

Other the refurbishments of outlets have taken place in Castletown, Douglas, Port Erin and Peel while the Shoprite in Onchan also closed in June as it undergoes a similar revamp.

Tesco’s purchase of Shoprite brought to an end 51 years of trading for the island supermarket chain which was launched in 1972 by the Nicholson family.

Until the sale was announced last October, Shoprite was the biggest independently owned food chain on the Isle of Man.

Tesco has been serving customers on the Isle of Man since 2000 when it opened its flagship store in Douglas.

The first refurbished Tesco store was the Tesco Express in Castletown which opened in February although it was an inauspicious start as customers had to be evacuated just hours after the ribbon was cut due to thick smoke which triggered the fire alarm.