WORK has begun on fitting out the former Woolworths store in Sidmouth High Street for M & Co.

WORK has begun on fitting out the former Woolworths store in Sidmouth High Street for M & Co.

When it is finished, in about eight weeks time, the town will have a flagship store, as it will be one of the first to use a new design concept created by Newton Abbot designers Jamieson-Smith for the fashion store.

Stuart McCarthy from the company said: "We are working on a seven-week programme and are looking to open in eight weeks.

"We are creating a new design concept, trialled in Surbiton, which introduces peninsular units, central features and more warmth and interest to our fitting rooms."

M & Co's Sidmouth store will stock children's clothes and possibly menswear, he said.

Mr McCarthy said the new design concept would be used in other empty Woolworth stores M & Co had acquired and into any new stores.

M & Co, which has a branch in Exmouth, has submitted an application to alter the shop frontage this week.

A planning spokesman at East Devon District Council said: "We received two applications for M&Co on Tuesday, one for alterations to the shop front and the other for new fascia and box projecting signs."

The new signage application is for advert consent and will, if required, be dealt with by Sidmouth Town Council.

EDDC's central planning team will deal with the shop front alterations application.

*Sidmouth's Woolworths closed on December 30 2008 after being at the High Street site 70 years. The retail giant was one of the first victims of the current recession.