ONE of North Yorkshire’s most well-known department stores is to invest £3.5m in expanding one of its sites – saying consumer spending is now on the up.

Barkers in Northallerton made the announcement after finding consumer confidence has increased in the past 18 months.

The family-run firm is to invest £3m in expanding its furnishing store on Yafforth Road by 20,000 square feet to create a new section for contemporary furniture, homeware and accessories. The move will lead to the creation of up to 20 new jobs.

The renovation will start in May and is expected to be completed by Christmas.

Work will also start this spring on a £500,000 revamp of the first-floor restaurant and fashion floor at Barkers' flagship Northallerton High Street department store.

Store owners plan to create a modern 180-seater restaurant with new flooring, lighting, counters, chairs and entrance, with an area selling luxury gift food, biscuits and chocolates.

The revamped restaurant will also have a conservatory with sofas and there will be an area that can be sectioned off for special events.

The business, which already employs 250 people, attracts shoppers from all over Yorkshire and the North-East, as well as further afield.

The latest investment in the edge-of-town furnishing store and town centre department store, which began life as a small draper’s shop in 1882, is a sign of Barkers' growing confidence in the economy and its long-term future in the town, following what they described as one of the worst retail recessions in history.

Barkers managing director Charles Barker said: "There are fewer family-owned department stores these days because of the cost of property and there is often not a line of succession or people wanting to go into the family business.

"Because we have a new generation in place, we plan to be here for the long-term and we have tremendous confidence in the town of Northallerton.

"We felt the effects of the recession in 2008 after the banking crisis happened and we have had some challenging times since then, but in the last 18 months we've found people are much more positive, there is more consumer confidence and spending has increased."