A FAMILY-run store is set to unveil its £3 million expansion which owners hope will help boost the Northallerton economy.

Barkers Furnishing Store, on Yafforth Road in Northallerton, is to stage an official opening on Saturday, March 19, after undergoing a major redevelopment.

The store has been expanded by 20,000 square feet to 60,000 square feet to create a section for contemporary furniture, a new cookshop and gifts section and bigger linens department, while there has also been a revamp of the first-floor bedroom furniture and soft furnishings section.

Barkers Furnishing Store currently employs 45 staff, but will create up to 15 new full and part-time jobs, and the owners hope the expansion will come as a sign of renewed confidence in the economy following one of the worst retail recessions in history.

The revamp will also see a change of name to Barkers Home.

Director Ian Barker said: "We hope this will draw in shoppers from outside the area and encourage them to spend time and money in Northallerton.

“We got planning permission to carry out this expansion just before the financial crash and, if we hadn’t had the recession, this redevelopment would have happened sooner.

“Now there is much more confidence surrounding the economy among consumers and retailers. This is a sign of our commitment to Northallerton as we plan to be around for many years to come.

"This has been a major project for us and the biggest development in Barkers' history since the furnishing store opened.”

Building work started in May and is being carried out by Darlington-based Wharton Construction, another family business, which has worked for Barkers for the past ten years.