JOHN Lewis products are returning to the Waitrose store in Basingstoke as part of a refurbishment project.

The flagship John Lewis store in Basingstoke closed down earlier this year as one of eight branches to be shut by the company.

The purpose-built 73,000 square foot store only opened in Basing View in November 2015 as a co-located shop alongside Waitrose.

Now, Waitrose has confirmed to the Gazette that an update to its Basingstoke store will include an area dedicated to John Lewis products.

The work is set to be complete by Friday, December 3.

New features will include a dedicated John Lewis area with products such as gifts, candles, toys, bedding, bathroom accessories, cooking and dining ranges, and stationery.

There will also be changes to the back of house area including the introduction of additional cold rooms, to allow Waitrose to expand its online operations and increase capacity for online deliveries each week.

A new self-serve bakery and patisserie will be added to the store along with a new dry aged beef cabinet.

An expanded self-serve payment area has already opened as part of the updates.

Jamie Rodgers, branch manager,  said: "We are making significant investment in both our in store and online offer to ensure we continue to improve our customers' shopping experience with us and it's even better that we have been able to deliver in time for them to enjoy it in the run up to Christmas."