Workington residents are placed that one empty lot in town will reopen as a furniture retailer.

The old Laura Ashley store, located at the Washington Square Shopping Centre in Risman Place, has posters placed over the windows highlighting that a brand new Bensons for Beds branch will be “opening soon”.

Like many shoppers around the country, the town was sad to see the closure of Debenhams in the shopping centre. The store had reopened in April as part of Boris Johnson’s road map out of lockdown, but the business’ fate had already been sealed and the store was forced to close after all stock had been sold.

The company entered administration in April 2019 and again a year later and was finally bought out by Boohoo in January 2021 after entering liquidation.

The arrival of the new Bensons for Beds store is good news to Workington town centre however, helping more people arrive on the high street.

Residents have shared their delight at the news online, with some finding that it is good news that stores are returning to the town instead of opening on the outskirts of town and that the empty shops in the centre are finally being reopened.