Wigan's colossal former Debenhams store to be turned into "Britain's biggest charity shop" - we get an exclusive sneak peek

Some predicted the vast anchor unit to the Grand Arcade, which last welcomed customers in May 2021 when the retailer went bust, would never be filled again.

But naysayers will soon be proved wrong when Rebuild With Hope launches a flagship outlet selling famous high street names’ surplus clothing, homeware, accessories and gifts at discounts of up to 70 per cent!

The organisation works with people facing multiple barriers to employment such as ex-offenders, homeless folk, refugees, ex-services veterans and asylum-seekers.

It provides direct employment both full and part-time, helps people find jobs and accommodation and provides training.

Eight staff and volunteers have already been recruited to stack the shelves, with the charity using the ground floor for retail space, and sales will help fund its work.

But it is also occupying the first floor both for storage, training, drop-ins and wrap-around support.

Chief executive officer Louise Atherton said: “We have only been around for a couple of years but this is massive for us.

"I am from Wigan and was hoping that we could establish our base here and couldn’t believe it when this opportunity arose.

"We receive donations and seconds, but a lot of the products we will sell are surplus from high street names. A lot is donated by a company we work with and we also purchase from other organisations which get the stock from retailers.

"It means we can sell top quality products at discounts of up to 70 per cent and we have loads in reserve.”

She added that Rebuild With Hope has already worked locally with organisations including The Brick, Fur Clemt, churches and community centres and that among its principle aims are to get people struggling to find a job into productive work while in some cases turning them away from a life of crime, and also to prevent perfectly good products from going to landfill.

Because Rebuild With Hope is a charity it does not pay rent to the Grand Arcade, but there is a clause – which Ms Atherton hopes won’t be invoked – which means mall bosses can give it 28 days’ notice to quit.

So as a plan B, the charity will begin looking for alternative premises for its operation, just in case.

While there are contractual technicalities to settle, at the moment there is a hope there can be a soft opening on Thursday August 17, with an official launch towards the end of September.

There are also plans to give over some of the ground floor space to other charities and social enterprises to promote themselves, for example through pop-up sessions.

Ms Atherton added: “We are delighted that this project will also be breathing new life into the cherished old Debenhams store.”

The arrangement also means that shoppers will once again be able to access the Grand Arcade multi-storey car park through the store.

Ms Atherton said that if the venture took off, she would be looking to recruit more staff.

The news is a welcome boost to Wigan town centre which has suffered an exodus of major retail names and there are currently concerns about the future of Wilko – whose Wigan store, ironically, occupies Debenhams’ previous Standishgate base – after calling in the administrators.