A STOURBRIDGE opticians is on the move and set to officially open the doors to its new premises next week.

Specsavers is moving to the old BrightHouse unit in the Ryemarket Shopping Centre, and work is nearly complete ahead of the official opening event on Monday September 9.

Dame Mary Perkins, co-founder of Specsavers, will be attending to ‘cut the ribbon’ and officially open the store’s eight testing rooms, dedicated audiology department and specialist contact lens area.

There will be balloons and cake to mark the occasion, with shoppers invited to join in the celebrations.

The new premises, at more than double the size, will enable the team to expand its optical and audiology offering.

The relocation comes amid increased demand for the busy community opticians and the investment has meant local recruitment, with additional colleagues coming on board.

The store will be locally owned and run by current directors Jason Bridgewater and Terry Tam, and new audiology director Louise Fellows. Together, they bring a total of 95 years’ experience in the optics and audiology field.

Jason said: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming our customers for the official opening, and we’re delighted to have Dame Mary Perkins in attendance to cut the ribbon too!

“It’s inspirational that she takes such an interest in each Specsavers store, and we’re extremely grateful that she’s taking the time to visit us.

“We’re really proud of our new space, which offers an updated and more spacious environment for customers and our team, so we hope you’ll come down to celebrate with us.”

State-of-the-art equipment has been installed throughout the new store, including an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) machine which allows the optometrist to take a 3D image of the back of the eye to help spot serious eye conditions, including glaucoma, up to four years earlier.