RETAILER Wilkinsons is to take over the empty Woolworths store in Northallerton.

The household goods retailer hopes to reopen the High Street shop and create 60 jobs in a couple of months.

The shop will be fully refurbished, with a target of the beginning of December, in time for the Christmas rush.

It has been boarded up since Woolworths was closed down on December 27 last year, with the loss of 36 jobs.

Despite rumours of interest from several high street chains, no firm offers or plans materialised for the site until Wilkinson indicated its interest several weeks ago.

The announcement was welcomed by the Mayor of Northallerton, Coun Tony Hall, who said it was excellent news for the town.

“I am delighted that the shop is to be taken over by Wilkinsons as it sends a message that Northallerton High Street is a quality high street,” he said.

“It is a big unit and we are pleased that it will be filled by a shop similar to Woolworths in terms of what they sell. The number of jobs created is also excellent news.”

The store remains boarded up while the refurbishment work takes place, but signs announcing the new branch have been put up, along with recruitment contact details.

Dave Jones, local marketing manager for Wilkinsons, said: “We are still quite early in the building process, so things may change but we hope to have it open before Christmas at least.

“As a company, we have been trying to get into Northallerton for some time. We are very keen to get this store opened and, although we haven’t finalised the details with local job centres, we hope to create about 60 jobs.

“In recent years, the company has opened a number of new stores in the North-East and it is an area that has proved to be a good one for us,” he added.