The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
100 jobs as new Range store prepares to open
PETERBOROUGH is set for a jobs bonanza after a growing retailer announced plans to move into the city.
Household products retailer The Range has announced that it is to recruit up to 100 members of staff ready for when it opens its Peterborough store in July.
The company, which was created in Plymouth 22 years ago and now employs 4,000 people in 59 stores across the country, is opening its first store in the city at the former Focus site in Boongate.
A spokesman for The Range said: “We will be announcing the official opening day for our store in Peterborough very soon but can confirm it will be in July.
“When we open a store we generally employ between 100 and 150 people and recruit through the Jobcentre.”
A planning application for a change of use of the site was granted by Peterborough City Council several months ago.
The premises will be used for the sale of DIY, maintenance and im- provement products for the home, garden and car. A quarter of the floorspace would also be used to provide a cafe for customers.
The news comes just days after bosses of Asda Living, which sells the George clothing range and household items, announced they would create up to 200 jobs with the opening of a new store at the Brotherhood Shopping Park, in Lincoln Road, Walton, in the autumn.
The retail park is currently undergoing a £23 million revamp and when complete is expected to create a total of 800 jobs through its tenants such as Asda Living, Next and Marks and Spencer and others.
There will be a further jobs creation last this year with the opening of low cost clothing chain Primark, for which a store is currently being created at the Queensgate Shopping centre, in Peterborough.
The pending jobs boost for the city comes as the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance has just hit a 17-year high.
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show the number of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants fell last month by just eight to 6,344 but still higher than 17 years ago.
Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson said: “Peterborough is a strong retail centre, the city has a big house building programme and is a good transport hub and the investment by retailers is a vote of confidence in the city.
“I hope that with these jobs there will be a strong element of training and apprenticeships for young people and that they will provide opportunities for Peterborough people.”
John Bridge, chief executive of Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, said: “These jobs are permanent and are exactly what the city needs. So much investment in Peterborough is a huge vote of confidence in the city.”