Shop to take over Shrewsbury Homebase site
A new outdoor goods store will create 40 jobs when it opens a £1 million branch in Shrewsbury next month.
Go Outdoors will be taking over the former Homebase site at Sundorne Retail Park, which closed in June 2013, with the loss of around 50 jobs.
The creation of the new jobs has been welcomed as a great boost for the area.
Shropshire Councillor Vernon Bushell said: "I very much welcome the creation of new jobs in the area, I thought it was sad when Homebase closed down so would warmly welcome this new store. It has to be good for the area.
"It is good to see firms moving in and it shows the economy must be looking up.
"Obviously it is another business and as I say 40 jobs is very welcome, especially in the current climate."
The store is expected to open in March and general manager, Andrew Uren, said more than £1m has been spent on refurbishing the 32,000 square foot premises, which will sell equipment for camping, walking, cycling, fishing, hiking, climbing and horse riding.
As part of the refurbishment of the site the company plans to create an external tent field.
Mr Uren said he was delighted to announce the store's arrival and revealed they would also be employing more staff than the 40 regular employees during the peak seasons of summer and winter.
He said: "It is fantastic news, as a business it is a fantastic place for us to to be, it is a lovely place right on the edge of some wonderful countryside and some wonderful water so it fits really well for everyone.
"We are putting a great unit to use, it fits really well in terms of size of what we want to do because we carry a massive range of stock and it will be great to fit that in."
Chris Matthews, chief executive officer of Go Outdoors, said
: "We are looking forward to opening the doors of our 51st store in Shrewsbury in March. As the UK's largest outdoor goods retailer, we are thrilled to be able to offer the Shrewsbury community a one stop superstore for all of their outdoor activity needs.
"The Go Outdoors Shrewsbury team are outdoor enthusiasts who will offer our customers a wealth of information and advice on all of the products we offer."
