A town centre’s fightback against the effects of recession has received a double boost with two new shops opening.

Felixstowe has seen some store closures but new ones have arrived during the past few years. While some traders are still struggling, the resort has not suffered as much as other towns.

This summer saw three popular shops close after their leases came to an end.

Discount store Thing-me-Bobs, cycle and motoring retailer Halfords and gift shop The Wharf all vacated their premises after failing to agree new terms, and work was then undertaken to knock the row of three shops into one big store.

Poundland has now moved into the premises in Hamilton Road, creating 28 new jobs.

Poundland’s trading director, Richard Lancaster said: “Poundland has grown significantly over the past 12 months and it’s fantastic to see this expansion continuing with a new store in Felixstowe. The £1 price hasn’t changed since we opened our first store 22 years ago. Our current customers love us and we are sure the Felixstowe shoppers will too.”

There has been further good news for the resort, too, with The Wharf making a quick return to the town.

The shop, which also has an outlet in Ipswich, signed a deal to move into the old TSB Bank premises in the main shopping area of Hamilton Road.

The building, which has a beautiful bowed frontage, has been empty for some years since shortly after TSB and Lloyds merged in 1995.

Mark Nafi, owner of The Wharf, said: “We are delighted to be returning to Felixstowe so quickly – it’s fantastic really because it will have been such a short gap that we were away.

“The building is wonderful. In fact, with our Ipswich premises, we have two wonderful and unusual properties.

“We have big plans for the future and getting back into Felixstowe is part of that.”

Andrew Rowdon, chairman of Felixstowe Chamber of Trade, said: “The most important thing is that shops are filled. There is nothing worse than having empty shops because it doesn’t attract people to the town – the more shops there are, the more inviting it is and that can only be good for new businesses and the existing ones.”