Porthmadog has welcomed a new opticians to its streets as part of a £400,000 investment by local owners.

The Specsavers store at 79 High Street is spearheaded by Jenny Dogan and Dyfan Jones, who are also directors of the Caernarfon Specsavers store.

The new 155sq.ft. store, formerly Barclays, consists of three optical test rooms with a team of seven. The team, half of which are Welsh-speaking, mostly consists of employees from the Caernarfon store but the opening also saw the hire of three new optical assistants – Carys Jones, Rachel Cox-Gordon and Rosemary Barlow. They are supported by Rhianwen Buckley and Shauna Firth who have worked in Specsavers Caernarfon since 2022.

Jenny Dogan, director of the Specsavers store, said:

‘Dyfan and I are incredibly passionate about giving back to the local community and are pleased to have been able to create jobs for local people. We are also passionate about clinical excellence, and our stores are always at the forefront by volunteering for local enhanced pathways to assist the NHS.’

The store was officially opened by MP Liz Saville-Roberts and MS Mabon ap Gwynfor and celebrations included a bake sale in aid of Welsh Air Ambulance.