One of the largest retail chains in the UK, W H Smith, is set to open a new branch on Sheringham high street.

A spokesman for the company said it hoped to have the shop open by the end of May.

The store will open on the site of the current Budgens supermarket, which is set to close from Sunday.

Jinx Hundal, who has run the shop since May 2006, confirmed that W H Smith would become the new tenant.

He declined to comment on the reason behind the closure on Tuesday, but had previously said a new Sainsbury store which opened in Sheringham in 2009 'had an impact' on his business.

Some 17 full- and part-time staff were employed by the Budgens store, which had been on the same site for around 20 years.

Staff had been told in recent weeks that the premises was up for sale and that a deal could be finalised soon.

They were also promised that efforts were being made to relocate them to other Budgens sites owned by Mr Hundal, including Cromer, Brundall and Prince of Wales Road in Norwich, rather than make them redundant.

As reported in today's North Norfolk News, Mr Hundal was recently forced to cancel a trial in three of his stores of a controversial CCTV system which broadcast footage to viewers from around Europe, Argentina and Canada, promising cash prizes of up to �1,000 for those who help to catch the most criminals.

However, complaints from the public caused him to bring an end to the scheme.

Peter Cox, of Peter's Book Shop in Sheringham, said the new W H Smith store would make no difference to his business, but could affect others.

'I'm quite surprised that W H Smith wants to come to Sheringham, bearing in mind that Tesco will open next year, and will probably be selling similar lines to them,' he said.

'A filled shop is better than an empty shop, but I don't know if W H Smith will be beneficial to the town.'

Barry Starling, vice chairman of the Sheringham Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said:

'They're offering the same services that are already being offered in Sheringham.

'We have a thriving book shop in

Bertram A Watts.

'They're a big-name player coming into Sheringham. The essence will be that the business will come from existing shops.

'The population of Sheringham is only so much,' he added.

Budgens had faced competition from Sainsbury's Local in the old Woolworth store on the High Street. as well as the imminent arrival of Tesco after winning its marathon planning battle.

Budgens was itself the first store to win planning permission for a larger supermarket in the town, as it sought to expand its previously modest-sized shop.

Its scheme on part of the main town car park was granted on appeal in 2003 after a six-year battle.

The new W H Smith will join the company's existing 1,000 stores across the UK.

Previously the only W H Smith presence in the town was a wooden newspaper kiosk at the old railway station.

WH Smith announced last month that it had bought 22 stores from the British Bookshops and Stationers chain for just over �1m.

t Do you remember the W H Smith kiosk? Call reporter Matthew Sparkes on 01263 513160 or email matthew.sparkes@archant.co.uk