Specsavers opens in Alnwick

A Northumberland man has returned to the county to start up Specsavers' new branch in Alnwick, which opened on Monday.
The new Specsavers branch in Alnwick.The new Specsavers branch in Alnwick.
The new Specsavers branch in Alnwick.

Grant Welsh, who was born in Guidepost and brought up in Bedlington, has worked in optics since leaving school.

Keen to progress and open his own store, Grant entered Specsavers’ Pathway programme, which is the process through which suitable candidates become the company’s joint venture partners and are eligible to become directors of their own stores.

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He completed the programme in 2016 and was accepted to launch the Alnwick store this year.

Grant’s return back to his home county will see his family – fiancée Leigh McManus, daughter Hallie and his parents – making the move north as well.

Leigh is a qualified optical dispenser and will work alongside Grant in the Alnwick store as the head of dispensing.

The new enterprise will create 10 jobs initially, three of which are brand-new, with all of the team coming from the North East.

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Grant said: “I am absolutely delighted to be returning to the North East with Leigh, Hallie and my parents.

“It feels a real privilege to have the opportunity to do the job I love, in the place I love, supported by the people I love.”

Grant has joined forces with existing directors Ross Jennings and David Rose, who also own the Morpeth and Stockton stores, and the trio has taken on one of the Bondgate Within premises, which has been empty since 2013 following the closure of Collectables.

For more information, visit www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/alnwick