17 August 2016: 4:10 pm

Open Range

A home and garden department store opened in Pitsea this summer.

The Range has taken out a lease of nearly 7,000sq m of space in a building which was formerly occupied by a leisure centre. The redeveloped space near Pitsea Market was originally intended for Morrison’s supermarket, which pulled out due to trading conditions. 

Multimillionaire founder of The Range, Chris Dawson, said: "Opening a new store is always an exciting moment for the company and Pitsea is no exception."

Queues of people turned up when the store opened on 15 July. Its opening is said to have created 80 jobs.

Councillor Richard Moore, the council’s cabinet member for regeneration and planning, said: “The Range is a major name in home living – it is an ideal brand to bring people into the town and improve trade for existing businesses."