The final 111 Wilko stores are due to close next month – including the Manchester store – after the chain’s collapse.
The last of the company’s shops will close for good with the majority having already closed their doors throughout this month, – the latest wave being yesterday. The closures are expected to result in a total of over 12,000 job losses.
Earlier in September, rival retailer The Range bought Wilko’s intellectual property including the website and many of its goods it can continue to sell in its stores.
Two other rivals, B&M and Poundland, bought up a number of Wilko sites. B&M have agreed to purchase 51 stores and Poundland 71 stores, but will reopen under their own brands.
The bargain homeware and hardware company will now be closing around 29 locations on Tuesday, October 3rd, 41 locations – including Manchester – will close on Thursday, October 5th and the remainder will close on Sunday October 8th.
Wilko was founded by James Kemsey Wilkinson in Leicester in 1930. At the time of its collapse last month, Wilko employed around 12,500 workers and had 400 stores.
The Wilko stores that will shut on October 3rd:
Hounslow, London St Albans, Hertfordshire Dunstable, Bedfordshire Weston Favell, Northampton Bristol Lancaster, Lancashire Leeds Trinity, West Yorkshire Reading, Berkshire Poole, Dorset Lincoln, Lincolnshire Halifax, West Yorkshire Washington, Newcastle upon Tyne Hitchin, Hertfordshire Chatham, Kent Southend, Essex Metro Centre, Gateshead Epsom, Surrey Cannon Park, Coventry Norwich, Norfolk Preston, Lancashire Canterbury, Kent Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey Carlisle, Cumbria Barnsley, South Yorkshire Kingswood, Bristol Colchester, Essex Ilford, London Maidstone, Kent Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
The Wilko stores that will shut on October 5th (including Manchester):
Bishop Stortford, Hertfordshire Tottenham Hale, London Worthing, West Sussex Romford, London Selly Oak, Birmingham Wembley, London Birstall, West Yorkshire Uxbridge, London Burton, Staffordshire Lee Circle, Leicester West Ealing, London Blackburn, Lancaster Bexleyheath, London The Beacon Eastbourne, East Sussex Weymouth, Dorset Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire Beaumont Leys, Leicester Hinckley, Leicestershire Livingston, Scotland Chelmsford, Essex Riverside Shopping Centre, Northampton Sittingbourne, Kent Stourbridge, West Midlands Manchester Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Deepdale, Preston Basingstoke, Hampshire Clifton Moor, York Burgess Hill, West Sussex Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway Harrow, London Tooting, London Telford, Shropshire Ipswich, Suffolk St James Retail Park, Sheffield Nottingham Cheltenham, Gloucestershire Bulwell, Nottinghamshire Abergavenny, Monmouthshire Frenchgate Shopping Centre, Doncaster Clifton, Bristol
The final Wilko stores that will shut on October 8th:
Neath, Neath Port Talbot Bromley, London Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire Cardiff, South Glamorgan Selby, North Yorkshire Arnold, Nottinghamshire Portsmouth, Hampshire Oswestry, Shropshire Chester, Cheshire Hucknall, Nottinghamshire Ayr, South Ayrshire Widnes, Cheshire Horsham, West Sussex Birkenhead, Merseyside Kingston Centre, Milton Keynes Parkgate, Rotherham Perry Barr, Birmingham Castleford, West Yorkshire Porthmadog, Caernarfonshire Brighouse, West Yorkshire Chelmsley Wood, West Midlands Swansea, Wales Sunderland, Tyne and Wear Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire Silverlink, Newcastle Chesterfield, Derbyshire Sutton, Surrey Derby Scarborough, North Yorkshire Crystal Peaks, Sheffield Plymouth, Devon Ely, Cambridgeshire Loughborough, Leicestershire Liverpool Stratford, London Newcastle upon Tyne Coventry, West Midlands Sheffield, South Yorkshire Exeter, Devon Luton, Bedfordshire Wood Green, London
On Sunday, October 8th, Wilko will disappear from the high street for good.
After years of will-they-won’t-they speculation, Oasis are officially BACK together for a reunion tour. The Gallagher brothers have put aside their differences in the name of music, making thousands of fans extremely happy in the process.
The band teased the news on their socials over the weekend, posting a video on Sunday morning with today’s date (Tuesday, August 27th) and the time 8am.
The legendary Mancunian rockers will take to the stage next summer, with gigs in Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Dublin and, of course, Manchester.
15 years after splitting, the band confirmed they would be back for 14 shows, saying: “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised”.
The gigs will be Oasis’s ‘only shows in Europe next year’, with tickets on sale this Saturday at 8am in Ireland and 9am in the UK.
Stagecoach Manchester is hiring over 100 new bus drivers to work from its Oldham depot, following the second phase of the Bee Network launch in March.
You can apply for a range of roles, from positions with no experience required to fully qualified bus drivers.
Successful applicants will receive full training as part of the job, and trainees will get paid to train. Then after only 12 months’ service at Stagecoach, drivers can expect to earn up to £16 per hour, which equates to £31.6K per year, before overtime.
As well as that, drivers that already hold a PCV licence may be eligible to receive a £1,200 joining bonus.
Stagecoach
There’s also a host of other benefits available to all Stagecoach employees, like 28 days paid holiday, generous pension and free Stagecoach bus travel for successful applicants and a companion.
Rob Jones, Managing Director at Stagecoach Manchester said: “Expanding our offering in Oldham means we’ll be investing more in the economy and supporting our local community, as well as strengthening our workforce.
“Whether you’re looking for a career change or you’re a fully qualified, experienced bus driver, there’s a role for everyone here in Oldham. “We’re looking for personable and dedicated drivers who are ready to help us build on the success of the Bee Network and connect the people of Oldham and Greater Manchester with the places and people that are important to them.”
Stagecoach
Phil Cornwall, bus driver at Stagecoach Manchester, said: “I’ve been a driver at Stagecoach for 25 years and I couldn’t recommend it more.
“From the perks to the people to the passengers, it really is a great place to work.”
Two men have now been charged with murder, following the discovery of a human torso in Kersal Dale.
As well as that, more suspected human remains were also discovered this morning, Monday April 29th, in an alleyway close to the railway lines off Worsley Road, Eccles.
This follows earlier discoveries of human remains over the past three weeks, at Kersal Dale, Blackleach Reservoir and Colliery Wood, all in Salford.
Greater Manchester Police
Michal Jaroslaw Polchowski (25/04/1956) and Marcin Majerkiewicz (10/04/1982) both of Worsley Road, Eccles, have been charged with murder.
They are set to appear at Tameside Magistrates Court this afternoon.
While formal identification is still ongoing, the remains found at Kersal Dale are believed to be of a local man in his 60s. The remains found at the other three locations are still to be tested, but police are confident they belong to the same victim.
ACC Sarah Jackson said: “We have had large numbers of officers, staff and specialists working diligently on this investigation over the last three weeks. It has been very much a large, collective effort, with the victim and family at the heart of it from the outset.
“We have specially trained officers deployed to support the family as they come to terms with this tragic news. They are aware of this morning’s further discovery and will continue to be kept up to date with how we are progressing.
“Despite the charges brought today, our work is far from over.
“The scenes we already have established in Bury and Salford will remain in place for much of this week whilst our searches and enquiries continue. Local officers will continue to patrol the impacted areas to provide reassurance.
“We will continue following every line of enquiry to recover and reunite the victim with his family, bringing a dignified end to this terrible scenario.
“I’d like to thank the communities of Salford and beyond for their cooperation throughout this investigation. I know this incident has come as a shock, and the support we’ve had from those in the area is very much appreciated.”