Plans are lodged for former Hooty's store
Plans to revamp a former discount superstore which is being taken over by a home furnishing chain have been lodged.
Hooty's, which closed in December after 50 years of trading, will be taken over by The Range. The store at Longacres Industrial Estate, Rose Hill, is due to open on April 11.
A planning application has been submitted to Walsall Council to create new entrances and install security bollards. The site will also be repainted.
All 100 jobs at the store will be saved in the takeover, bosses have said, and all staff from Hooty's will be employed at the new store.
The Range has temporarily redeployed staff at neighbouring stores while the refit takes place.
The futures of the Kidderminster store, which shut last month and the outlet in Erdington, Birmingham, are not known.
A multi-million pound refurbishment has now started in Willenhall to transform the 70,000sqft site into a new store stocking more than 65,000 products with a garden centre and coffee shop.
The new store will be the 88th Range store in the UK and the third to open in 2014.
The Range founder Chris Dawson said today: "We are very pleased to be able to finally announce plans for the new store in Willenhall, we feel that the location is perfect for The Range and we hope to become an integral part of the community.
"I am very pleased to be keeping on staff from the old site and they will play an important role in making sure the new superstore has a familiar feel.
"We are investing a lot of money into the area I look forward to welcoming loyal Hooty's customers and new customers so they can see what we are about."
The plans will be considered by council chiefs in the coming weeks.
The Range was founded by entrepreneur Chris Dawson. He started the business in 1980 as an open-air market trader and saved up enough money to launch a superstore.
