Beloved charity shop chain with 750 stores across the UK to close town centre site after 18 years

A BELOVED foundation store concatenation with 750 UK stores has closed down a fashionable municipality centre tract aft 18 years.

The erstwhile thriving precocious thoroughfare favourite, successful Greenock, Scotland, shared the bittersweet quality with customers they pulled the shutters down for good.

The much-loved British Heart Foundation subdivision successful West Blackhall Street has officially waved goodbye to its apparel and publication store.

This has partially been attributed to a dip successful foot-traffic owed to £3.2million operation works successful the municipality centre.

Sarah Malone, store manager of the neighbouring British Heart Foundation furniture and electrical shop, told the Greenock Telegraph: "It is a shame and it is truly sad. There seems to beryllium much shops closing than opening here.

"The foundation store has been successful West Blackhall Street for a agelong time.

"It has conscionable been truly hard for them with the disruptions. Many of their customers are aged and they conscionable won't travel if they can't get parked. Other shops person recovered this arsenic well."

The foundation store yet chose not to renew their lease aft struggling with competing shops and little customers utilizing the precocious street.

However, immoderate volunteers were capable to support their shifts astatine the neighbouring British Heart Foundation's furnishings store.

Sarah added: "We are the lone foundation store selling furnishings connected this scale. We person had our ups and downs but it is picking up.

"Christmas tin beryllium quiescent but the past mates of years we person been busy."

Greenock municipality centre Councillor Graeme Brooks added: "It is disappointing that different trader has closed. But determination is obscurity for aged constituents to park."

He explained parking spaces were replaced by a rhythm lane, meaning the closest car parkland was inactive excessively acold distant to beryllium convenient for aged and disables residents.

"The caller plan has made a atrocious concern worse," claimed the councillor.

An Inverclyde Council spokesperson said: “It is people disappointing erstwhile immoderate section concern closes and particularly specified a long-standing 1 successful a salient location.

“Sadly, West Blackhall Street had seen amended days and determination was wide acknowledgement that thing had to beryllium done to marque it a much charismatic spot to live, work, visit, and bash concern and that’s wherefore we stepped successful to make plans and secured millions of pounds successful outer backing to redevelop Greenock’s accepted precocious street."

The assembly spokesperson explained the "key aim" is to marque the country "more appealing for shoppers" which volition successful crook bring successful much businesses.

Cheryl Hughes, British Heart Foundation Area Manager, expressed her gratitude for staff, volunteers and loyal customers.

"They tin inactive enactment america and sojourn our adjacent shops and stores, including our Greenock Home Store connected West Blackhall Street oregon store online connected our eBay store," she added.

"Our escaped postulation work is inactive disposable too, truthful delight see donating to america if you can. We’re grateful for the ongoing enactment of our customers, who assistance money lifesaving research.”