BRITAINS big High Street names are tipped to compete for a prime town centre site in Pembrokeshires retail heartland.

The Co-operative Group announced this week that it will pull out of Haverfordwest in the New Year, selling its large Riverside Quay site to the highest bidder.

Fifty-four staff will lose their jobs when the supermarket, one of six in the town, closes on January 4th.

Despite its poor trading performance, the news caught everyone by surprise, including Pembrokeshire County Council. It is believed that the authority owns the Co-op car park which it leases to the company.

County council leader, Councillor Maurice Hughes, says the authority regrets the Co-ops decision but is upbeat about the future of the 22,000 square foot building.

It does provide a significant opportunity for a quality retailer to establish itself on a prime site in the county town," he says.

Speculation has already started as to who that quality retailer might be. Asda is keen to be represented in Pembrokeshire but has no specific site in mind.

We do have a general interest in the area but we are not tied to any particular site," says its spokeswoman.

Toys R Us is a hot favourite because Haverfordwest does not have a store dedicated solely to toys. Sainsburys is another retailer who may want to expand west of Swansea.

The chances of Marks and Spencer locating a branch in Haverfordwest are very slim because its current policy is to concentrate on existing stores.

Even if we had an interest in this site we would not let people know in advance because it automatically increases the sale price," its representative told the Western Telegraph.

Haverfordwest town centre manager Gordon Doughty is confident the site will be quickly snapped up.

I am hopeful that it will be used to improve the mix of retailers in Haverfordwest," he says.