A hardware giant has confirmed the opening date and location of its new store.

Screwfix will open in Walbrook Business Park in Queenborough after months of speculation on where and when it would come to Sheppey.

The new shop will open on Wednesday, November 20.

It will create 11 new jobs at the site which sits off the A249, opposite Neats Court.

Currently, Islanders have to cross The Swale to find a hardware store with the closest being Screwfix in Mill Way or Homebase in Sittingbourne Retail Park.

Screwfix, which sells tools, building materials and accessories, will be the fourth company to take up residence in the park which was founded by self-made millionaire Tom Allsworth.

In May last year, catalogue retailer, Easylife Ltd, was the first to call the units home – albeit in the neighbouring site called Walbrook West.

It was followed in April by Sittingbourne-based firm ProXL, which specialises in paint products for the automotive industry.

Furniture retailer Howdens also set up shop in the park. It opened in July this year.

The park was unveiled in October 2022 by its founder who left school at 16 and has spent £18 million on the venture.

Originally the site was to include 30 separate units ranging from 1,000 sq ft to 32,000 sq ft but Mr Allswroth explained that some of these have been combined to meet the needs of large businesses.

The Island-born executive chairman of Medichem told KentOnline that things are “going very well”.

He said: “Seven of the buildings have been built, of which five of them have already filled so there’s two left.

“Some of the units have been taken up by the same companies like Easylife which took up a large building which was technically four different units.

“We are going to enter our second phase of development after Christmas and one of those units has already been taken up, although I can’t tell you who that is.

“The park is the most prominent place on the Island so if you want to go to Sheerness you have to drive past it on the A249 and businesses are seeing that.”

The news of Screwfix’s commitment to Walbrook comes after months of speculation.

The firm posted adverts for branch manager, assistant manager and retail supervisor roles for a store in the Queenborough area in April which sparked questions about the store's arrival.

A Screwfix spokeswoman said: “We are delighted to bring Screwfix closer to even more customers and look forward to welcoming busy tradespeople to our new store.”