An opening date has been announced for one of the large stores moving into the Weymouth Gateway retail development.

Homeware retailer Dunelm is opening the doors to its new Weymouth store on Thursday, November 17.

The company says its 30,000 sq ft site will provide Weymouth with an "all-new shopping experience" as well as 42 new jobs.

The Echo reported earlier this week how the Gateway scheme was progressing with finishing touches being made to the huge units which have been constructed at the site off Mercery Road opposite the supermarket Aldi, which was phase one of the development.

A new McDonald's restaurant and a Costa Coffee outlet - both with drive through lanes - have opened at the site in the past few months as part of phase two.

Next to open will be a B&M Home Store and Dunelm, and these units are now being fitted out ahead of opening. B&M has yet to reveal its opening date but it expected this will also be next month.

The highly-anticipated opening of the Dunelm store will take place at 9am on November 17 with staff dishing out free bacon rolls from 8.30am for the first 30 keen customers in the queue.

The first 50 customers through the doors will each receive an 'exclusive' goody bag. Those arriving a little later won’t be missing out though, with 20 golden tickets, ranging £5 to £20, hidden around the store for customers to hunt for and redeem throughout the day.

The store will be home to a decorating department, made to measure window treatments, a furniture showroom, plus a large Pausa Kitchen Café.

Store manager Linda Bloor said: “We’re so excited to be opening our new Dunelm Weymouth store. The team will be working incredibly hard over the next few weeks to get everything set up and ready and we can’t wait to welcome the local community into our amazing new home.”

Locals are invited to join the local Dunelm Weymouth Community Support Facebook Group where they can keep up to date with everything going on in-store both pre-opening and post - including how to claim a free hot drink in the café.

Dunelm was founded in 1979 as a Leicester market stall business selling ready-made curtains and has been making made to measure curtains and blinds in Leicestershire for more than 20 years.

Since opening the first store in 1984, the company has expanded across the country making it the UK’s largest homewares retailer with more than 175 stores nationwide.