A THOUSAND jobs, feared lost for good when Morrisons shut a distribution depot in the county, are coming home.

Waitrose, the grocery operation of the John Lewis Partnership, has bought the Safeway site in Aylesford from the supermarket group for an undisclosed sum and pledged to employ local people.

Aylesford will be the growing chain’s fourth regional distribution depot. The 600,000 sq ft complex in Forstal Road will be given a facelift before opening mid-2007.

Jonathan Shaw, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, welcomed the move, saying it gave a clear indication that the local economy was strong.

Mr Shaw was a fierce critic of Morrisons for closing the depot despite a personal assurance from Sir Ken Morrison that it would stay open.

Mr Shaw said: "Seeing these jobs effectively replaced by a good employer can only be welcome for our part of Kent.

"Obviously within the vicinity there are many people who used to work for Safeway and have a great deal to offer in terms of their skills and expertise."

Depot workers will, like other John Lewis employees, be known as "partners". They will share in a generous Partnership bonus.

Tony Solomons, Waitrose supply chain director, said: "This new regional distribution centre is in an excellent location which suits our business plans.

"Since last year, the volume handled by our supply chain has grown by about 10 per cent.

"At our current rate of growth we will exceed our network capacity by 2008 so this provides us with a platform to grow our business in the long term.

"When Aylesford is up and running, it will also allow us to service our branch network more efficiently and reduce the number of food miles."

Other Waitrose regional distribution centres are in Bracknell, Brinklow (Milton Keynes), and Bardon, Leicestershire.

It currently has 179 branches nationwide, including Allington, Tenterden, Dartford, Paddock Wood, Longfield and Hythe.

Last year, Waitrose was due to build a new store close to Maidstone East Station but pulled out when a property deal fell through. It was replaced by Asda.

A Waitrose spokeswoman said there were no immediate plans for new stores in Kent but the company was always looking for suitable sites.

Waitrose has a seven per cent share of the retail food market in southern England and four per cent nationally.