Published at 13:34, Friday, 09 November 2012

A new fashion shop will open in Workington town centre next week.

Select Fashion will move into an empty unit in Ivison Lane on Thursday.

Its launch will come two weeks before clothing chain H&M is due to open the doors of its new store in Risman Place.

It will be the third shop that Select Fashion has had in Workington.

The company had a unit at Dunmail Park until 2008, and a previous store in Ivison Lane was taken over by Edinburgh Woollen Mill in 2004.

It will employ two full-time staff and eight part-time workers. It will take over a unit previously occupied by Paperbox and more recently Kiss Cards, which closed in August.

The national women’s fashion shop offers low-price popular fashion, with boots for less than £20 and jeans starting from £10.

H&M’s store, opposite Debenhams, will take up four empty units and has created 30 jobs.

Dave Fletcher, development manager for Washington Square, said: “We want Workington to become a retail hub for west Cumbria and with these two new fashion stores we have the potential to become the fashion capital of West Cumbria.

“This is a massive coup and will help us to attract more shoppers to the town.

“It will save them money in the long run because they will not have to travel to Carlisle.

“We have to try to attract the big retail chains.

“We’re nearly 98 per cent full on Washington Square which I’m delighted with”

Martin O’Rourke, a director of Riddelltps Limited, managing agent for Washington Square, said: “We are delighted to welcome Select into our shopping precinct and look forward to further new tenants starting to trade.”

Another unit in Washington Square was filled this week when Warian Kapur opened Mobile Booth in the former Shake It Up premises, on Campbell-Savours Way.

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk