A new store in Shipley will bring between 30 and 40 jobs to the town, it was announced today.

Retail giant Argos revealed plans to open a branch of the catalogue store in Otley Road in time for the Christmas trade rush.

The store is part of Argos' aim to open 35 new shops a year throughout the United Kingdom and the Repub-lic of Ireland.

The jobs at the store will be both part-time and full-time.

A spokesman for Argos said the posts will be on offer to local people rather than being filled by people redeployed from other areas.

The site, which is on the corner of Otley Road and Kirkgate, will have about 486 square metres of floor space and will be two storeys high.

Work, which has been going on at the site since March, was delayed a couple of weeks when contractors Thistle Construction found voids in the foundation rock.

But after mass filling the holes with concrete the development was back on track and exterior building work is set to be completed by the end of September.

The store, which was previously a private car park, will have a limited number of car parking spaces.

Town centre manager Bob Parker said: "The new store will be an asset to the town and will encourage more people to shop in Shipley. It will have huge benefits for the town centre and give customers more choice."

Councillor Tony Miller (Lab, Shipley East) said: "I welcome the news that Argos is to come to Shipley. We have wanted to attract people to Shipley and haven't had the right kind of shops - Argos was the kind of thing that was missing.

"I think it will bring a lot more people into the town and other shops will benefit too. It will attract other businesses and will bring us into the first division.

"The jobs will also be a boost to Shipley."