SHOPPERS in Andover are one step closer to seeing a new budget retailer arrive in the town.

B&M has been widely expected to move into an empty unit in Enham Arch Retail Park which was vacated by Homebase last month.

In January residents were given their clearest indication yet that the new store would shortly be arriving in town when plans to erect new signage at the site, displaying the B&M logo, were lodged with Test Valley Borough Council.

And this week those plans were approved, seemingly giving the project the green light.

Speculation regarding the new store began weeks before the signage proposal was submitted, when a job advert for an opening at a B&M Andover store was recently spotted online.

The Advertiser previously contacted B&M for a comment on the store’s potential arrival in the town, but the organisation could neither confirm nor deny the news.

A spokesperson for the retailer said: “We’re always looking at sites for new stores and would welcome the opportunity to invest in the region.”

And it now appears that the store is edging ever closer to doing just that.

The plans that Test Valley Borough Council approved this week are for the display of three illuminated fascia signs to go on the outside of the building, and two non-illuminated fascia signs to go in the entrance foyer.

The proposed external signage reads “B&M home store & garden centre”, with two signs to be mounted on the front of the building and one on the side that joins Unit 2 of the retail park, currently home to Tapi Carpets.

The external signs will feature bird spikes, according to plans.

B&M has been contacted for further details on the situation.