WORK on two multi-million developments as part of the ongoing regeneration of a town centre is underway.

The former Kwik Save building on Clifford Road in Stanley is being given a dramatic facelift to prepare for the arrival of Home Bargains.

Meanwhile, the old bus station and former Co-op building, which were demolished several years ago, are being cleared to pave the way for the new Aldi store in the town.

They follow the opening of a new £1.4 million, 23-bed hotel in Stanfield House, the former council care home, in December, which created 20 jobs.

North Durham MP Kevan Jones said: “I warmly welcome these important developments which will contribute to the regeneration of Stanley.”

Tesco initially wanted to create an 86,500-square foot store, with a 400-strong workforce, on the Clifford Road site and was given planning permission in 2011.

The supermarket giant scaled down its proposals to a 61,000-sq ft development, creating 250 jobs, in January 2014.

But the following year the proposed new store was among 49 scrapped after a downturn in company profits and in April 2017 it confirmed the land had been sold to JT Morris, which owns Home Bargains.

Durham County Councillor Carl Marshall, portfolio holder for economic regeneration, said he expected the new store to be open by spring 2018.

He said: “It is a partial demolition and they are going to put a new skin around it and get it all fitted out with a state-of-the art retail offering

“The site has sat derelict for about 15 years so it is a really big thing for the town.

“Home Bargains is opening a large superstore there, creating a lot of jobs and offering something different in the town in terms of retail.”

The company said it was not able to disclose the number of jobs it is creating or the level of investment it is making in the store.

A spokesperson for Home Bargains said: “While we don’t have anything to announce at the moment, we’d encourage people to register on our careers website so we can contact them if roles become available in their region.

“As a result of our constant growth, we’re always looking for new staff across the country.”

Discount retailer Aldi was granted planning permission to open a multi-million pound store near Asda in February.

Extra car parking for the 30-job food-store will be built on the site of the former Co-op.

An Aldi spokesperson said: “We will keep the community updated on our progress.”