Value retailer Home Bargains has temporarily closed its Dorset store as it looks to extend into the vacant Harveys and Bensons for Beds store unit.

The refurbishment and expansion project is expected to take around three months, with the retailer ploughing £850,000 into the revamp after securing permission from BCP Council.

The store on Christchurch Retail Park is expected to reopen in September and will see its workforce expand to 70 staff.

A statement within the planning documents said: “The proposals will secure the long-term occupation of [the unit] and will allow Home Bargains to upsize into an amalgamated adjoining vacant unit. The proposal will result in an increase depth within the existing product ranges.”

Home Bargains recently reopened its newly refurbished store in Hereford, which also saw the retailer extending into a former Bensons for Beds unit.

The store is located on Holmer Road and has almost doubled in size, expanding to 20,000sq ft as well as doubling its employee number to 75 staff.

The refurbishment project took around five months to complete, with the store reopening on 14 May.