Centre welcoming discount stores after £5m revamp

A familiar name in discount shopping is moving to Maidstone’s The Mall as part of its £5m refurbishment... but only temporarily.

The Works, which last served customers in the town last June but was burnt to the ground in an arson attack, is due to open in the King Street centre today (Friday).

It will be next to H Samuel jewellers on the upper level. The stationery shop’s former base in Week Street had to be torn down following the blaze and is now being rebuilt, with the retailer moving back in next summer.

The Mall’s Poundland is having a complete refit and will be expanding in to the unit next door, increasing its floor space by almost 50%.

Neighbouring M& J Luggage will move to the vacant shop next to it. Opposite these two will be T J Hughes which returns to its former home in the complex.

Several of the staff made redundant when BHS, another of the complex’s major retailers, went under have found new jobs with the discount department store.

The news comes as the £5m refurbishment of the former Stoneborough Centre — which has seen new entrances, lighting, toilets and an expansion of the Golden Boot into the former Ship Inn in Gabriels Hill — surges towards completion. Suzie Brindle, marketing manager, said: “We’re thrilled to be welcoming The Works to The Mall, and a brand new store for Poundland too.

“There’s lots of exciting changes taking place, and we’re sure both new stores will be hugely popular with our shoppers.”

Gareth Holland, of Capital and Regional retail assets manager, said: “With the extensive refurbishment of The Mall almost complete, Poundland have exchanged an agreement to upsize and refurbish their existing store to create a unit of almost 10,000sq ft.

“Its opening should be almost simultaneous with the opening of the new 30,000sq ft T J Hughes store.

“The refurbishment will be fully completed by the end of September when further new lettings will be announced.”