A POPULAR home furnishing retailer has announced plans to open a second store in Gwent later this year.

Dunelm will open a new store in the Cwmbran Centre after agreeing a ten-year lease with national commercial property and investment company LCP, which owns and manages the centre.

The new store will open on the former site of Marks & Spencer at 24 South Walk, which is has been currently occupied by One Below.

The discount retailer is re-opening in the place of Argos next door to Greggs, after the retailer moved inside Sainsburys on Llewelyn Road, Cwmbran, in November 2020.

Alex Williams of LCP said: “We know from the regular customer feedback we carry out that the Dunelm announcement will be welcomed by shoppers.

“Attracting Dunelm to the centre is a huge coup and we are absolutely thrilled it has committed to opening here. We look forward it is opening later this year.”

Dunelm is the latest in a series of new tenants at the centre, which is seeing increased footfall every month due to the number of shops opening.

Will Thomas, Partner at KLM Real Estate who jointly lease the scheme for LCP with EJ Hales, is delighted with the new addition to the town.

He added: “This is a major letting for the town centre and is the first of several key transformation deals we are working on.

“Cwmbran continues to buck the trend with rising footfall and performance. Dunelm is a great fit for the town.”

An official opening date for Dunelm is yet to be revealed, it is thought that the store will open in autumn.

One Below have already began moving stock from its current site to its new location. It is expected to open between July and August.

Meanwhile, the nearest Dunelm store is located on Spytty Road, Newport.