OPTICIANS will be celebrating the grand re-opening of their store after making a half a million pound investment in Saffron Walden’s town centre.

The Specsavers team are gearing up to welcome customers back to the store in Hill Street after closing its doors for a major £500,000 expansion which saw the number of eye test rooms double and the addition of two new rooms for hearing tests during a six-week closure.

Specsavers has taken on ten new members of staff as part of the expansion including dispensing managers, customer service advisors, and new lab technicians, who are all from the town.

The relaunch is set for 10am on Tuesday, January 16, and guests will be treated to live music and a slice of cake after a ceremonial ribbon cutting.

Saffron Walden Reporter: Town centre - Hill StreetTown centre - Hill Street (Image: Mr Ignavy)

Heather Asker, the mayor of Saffron Walden, will be among the VIP guests at the re-opening ceremony.

Store director Suba Thiara says the team is looking forward to welcoming customers back to the revamped branch.

“We’re very excited about the expansion of our store and the team,” she said. “I am passionate about hiring locally and being able to support the community.

“We are proud to welcome our new team members, who are all local to the Saffron Walden area.”

The store has been reconfigured as part of the expansion, with one side of the site being clinical and the other being a new retail space.

Saffron Walden Reporter: Mayor - Heather Asker is attending the relaunchMayor - Heather Asker is attending the relaunch (Image: Copyright © 2016 Celia Bartlett Photography)

Elliot Kemp-Smith, the store’s optometry director, says it will be business as usual on the team’s first day of trading.

He said: “We are looking forward to celebrating this huge store expansion and change with the people of Saffron Walden.

“The store will be running as normal for the day, but there will be an opportunity to pop in to see us and get a slice of cake.”

The Specsavers team in Saffron Walden also offers home visits to customers who are unable to visit the store in person because of disability or illness.

Eligibility for the store’s home care service can be checked online at specsavers.co.uk or by calling the team on 01799 420249.