A new home furnishings store is set to open at a former Wilko which has been derelict since its closure last September.

The branch in Canterbury will become home to Aamad – a new name on the High Street with multi-million plans to open 14 stores across London and the southeast in the next year.

The St George’s Place site has become an eyesore but work on re-branding will soon get underway and deliveries of new stocks of furniture have already arrived in readiness for a planned launch at Easter.

Owner Taz Shaikh believes the site is a prime location for his new business, which will also offer fitted kitchens and bedrooms.

He insists he is in it for the long term, having taken a 10-year lease on the building which offers almost 30,000sq ft of floor space.

“I think we will have a very exciting offer for Canterbury shoppers with what we call; ‘affordable luxury’”, he says.

“We will be selling lounge and dining furniture as well as things like coffee tables, lamps and mirrors, with a choice of both contemporary and traditional.

“Upstairs, we later plan to have bedroom suites and fitted kitchens to cover all homemakers’ needs.”

Wilko collapsed into administration last August, eventually closing more than 400 stores and shedding all 12,500 jobs in October.

The parent firm of The Range, CDS Superstores,have bought the Wilko brand for £5 million.

Many of its branch locations have now been snapped up by Poundland and B&M but the future of Canterbury’s site remained in doubt, until now.

“We will be creating at least 14 new jobs and would certainly like to hear from any former Wilko staff who have struggled to find alternative employment,” said Mr Shaikh.

He has plans to open 14 branches of Aamad over the next year, some in former Wilkos, including in Bexleyheath, but Canterbury will be the first.

The store’s opening has been welcomed by the Canterbury Business Improvement District (BID) group.

“We continue to see plenty of new openings this month including a greengrocer, beauty parlour, coffee shop, bubble tea and now furniture,” said chief executive Lisa Carlson, adding: “We wish them every success.”