Bargain chain Boyes rumoured to be moving into former Doncaster Wilko store

Boyes, which currently has a store in Duke Street, is understood to be moving into the space formerly used by Wilko, which closed its doors in the shopping centre last autumn when the High Street chain went bust.

And in a separate move, planning permission has been granted for the Boyes building to be turned into eight residential properties.

Permission for the project was granted by City of Doncaster Council nearly two years ago.

A spokesman for Frenchgate said: “There are several ongoing discussions regarding tenancy of units within Frenchgate.

"We are unable to confirm those conversations until legally complete.

"We will be happy to let you know any upcoming openings as soon as we are able.”

Founded in 1881 in Scarborough, the Boyes chain has been run by successive generations of the Boyes family and has more than 70 branches across the country.

The company's slogan is "for good value" and the stores specialise in discount retail sector, stocking a mixture of regular lines, one-off special purchases and clearance items.

Boyes stores stock over 30,000 products over a large range including household products, fashion and footwear and serve around 250,000 customers a week.

The Frenchgate branch of Wilko closed in October last year, with staff bidding an emotional farewell to customers after the chain collapsed into administration with the loss of thousands of jobs across the country.