THE former Woolworths store in Accrington has been taken over by a local retailer in a move that will create 15 new jobs.

The ‘Best of Oswaldtwistle Mills’ will open its doors in Broadway in time for Easter and the announcement has been welcomed by Hynd-burn Council leaders.

Oswaldtwistle Mills, in Colliers Street, attracted more than 1.1million visit-ors last year and bosses are confident the new store is well placed to prosper.

Boyd Hargreaves, mana-ging director of Oswald-twistle Mills, said: “We are confident we can help to support the community in Accrington, who have lost a major high street retailer.

“There is a lot of negati-vity about Accrington at the moment surrounding the empty shops in the town and we hope our introduction will help to revitalise act-ivity.

"There also seems to be some active developments being made by the owners of the Arndale Centre and their agents to fill the other empty shops in the scheme.”

The new store will have a strong focus on women’s fashion brands but will also consist of other sections such as Stockleys Sweets and Musbury Fabrics.

Coun Peter Britcliffe, leader of Hyndburn Council, said: “Anything that brings investment into the area is fantastic news, especially when it’s a local successful company like Oswaldtwistle Mills.

James Salmon, chief operating officer of Protego, owners of the Arndale Centre, added: "We are delighted to have agreed terms with Oswaldtwistle Mills.”