By Jenny Barwise

Last updated at 12:21, Wednesday, 17 October 2012

The final hurdle has been cleared for clothing giant H&M to open its new store in Workington next month.

Dave Fletcher

Thirty jobs will be created when the Swedish company moves into four empty shop units in the £35m Washington Square shopping centre.

Allerdale council has this week granted permission for the development and work is now underway for the opening on November 27.

The store will take over the ground and first floors of the four units on Risman Place, which are opposite Debenhams and sell women’s and children’s clothing.

The opening means that the town’s troubled shopping centre, which has seen many stores shut down and reopen during the recession, will now be 98 per cent occupied.

The shopping centre’s development manager, Dave Fletcher, said that the centre has been trying for the past six years to fill the empty units and it was a “great coup” for the town that H&M were opening a store.

Since the shopping centre’s opening, a number of shops have shut their doors as companies go bust or traders find it hard to meet ever-increasing bills, but these have almost immediately been filled.

And now, with H&M moving in, only three of the 52 shop units remain empty.

H&M sells around 550 million garments each year. Singer Lana Del Rey was recently signed up to be the “face” of the company.

The company’s manager for the UK and Ireland, Magnus Olsson, said that he was “excited” to confirm the store’s arrival.

“This will be our first store in west Cumbria and we hope that H&M’s business concept of fashion and quality will be well received,” he added.

First published at 12:10, Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk