Works are soon set to get under to bring shoppers back to an empty ex-supermarket.

Morrisons on Bury Road, Breightmet, closed its doors in September last year and has been empty ever since.

But Home Bargains, which has a branch next door to the abandoned supermarket, now hopes to start work on expanding into the space this spring.

Cllr Sean Fielding, of Breightmet, said: “I’m glad that the unit formerly occupied by Morrisons will not lie empty for a long time.

“Many people in the community are looking forward to an extended Home Bargains store and I hope that it will be open very soon.”

The Bolton News: The Breightmet MorrisonsThe Breightmet Morrisons (Image: Google Maps)

Variety chain store Home Bargains first announced that they hoped to buy the empty space and expand their store into it last September, the same month the Morrisons finally closed.

Since then, people passing by have noticed preparations for works appearing to take place on the site.

The company has confirmed that it hopes that works will begin in either March or April of this year.

It is understood that since September supermarket staff have either secured different roles in the same company or have expressed an interest in working at Home Bargains.

The supermarket was formerly a Safeways store with Morrisons opening on the site in 2011 creating 52 jobs in the Breightmet area.

Morrisons first announced that they were planning to close the Breightmet store last July, sparking widespread disappointment from shoppers.

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The company said at the time that it did not believe the branch was sustainable after having carried out a review of its performance.

Speaking in July, a Morrisons spokesperson said: “Following a thorough review of the Breightmet store's operation, unfortunately we do not believe performance is sustainable and we are therefore announcing that we have made the difficult decision to propose to close the store.”

They added: "We would like to welcome customers in the area to continue shopping with us at our Bolton, Blackhorse Street, store or via Morrisons.com.”

The Blackhorse Street store is around a 10-minute drive from the Breightmet Morrisons and has an estimated walking time of around 50 minutes.