Poundland aims to open up a temporary Elgin location inside the vacant Poundstretcher shop before Christmas amid fire repairs.
This comes after their High Street store was “devastated” by a fire in August.
A Poundland spokesman confirmed: “There are still some ‘i’s to dot and ‘t’s to cross, but we’ve been working hard over the last few weeks to find a temporary location that will enable us to re-open in Elgin while we work on repairs following the fire.
“We hope to be able to re-open in this temporary location well before Christmas, but there are still some steps we need to take before we can confirm the move.”
Bosses say staff continue to be “overwhelmed” by the support shown since the fire.
A spokesman added:”They certainly can’t wait to get cracking on fitting out a temporary home and re-open.”
An application has been submitted to Moray Council for new signs at the Poundstretcher store.
It has been empty since the closure of Poundstretcher during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Plans submitted
Last week, plans were sent to the local authority to erect two new signs at the Thunderton Road building.
HLP Limited is representing the firm in the application.
A sign is planned for the front of the building, with the plans saying it would be 3.95 metres from the ground.
What happened in the fire?
Last month, the Elgin High Street’s Poundland was the scene of a massive fire.
Several road closures were put in place, and buildings in the vicinity were evacuated, with one person treated for smoke inhalation.
A 15-year-old boy was later charged in connection with the blaze.
At the time, a Poundland spokesman said: “We remain extremely proud of our store colleagues for their actions on Friday.
“All our energies right now are on supporting them and exploring every avenue as to how we can re-open in Elgin as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, the Poundland building on the High Street is being redeveloped as a mixed-use development to “improve negative perceptions of the street due to the imposing nature of the building that align it.”
It comes as part of the Elgin town centre masterplan.
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