Waitrose is proposing to close the Staines store in Autumn 2017 if its Partners (the owners of its business) agree to this course of action during a consultation period.
We call upon Waitrose to extend its efforts to keep this store open through negotiation with Two Rivers, the shopping centre in which Waitrose Staines is based, and Spelthorne Council with a view to maintaining a town centre supermarket.
Why is this important?
The reason given for this proposed closure is that Waitrose has “found trading from this site extremely challenging for some time and has sadly been unable to find a long-term solution to address this.”
Waitrose is the only dedicated supermarket in the centre of Staines though and the impact of its loss will be felt strongly by local families and businesses.
Two Rivers Shopping Centre, and the wider town centre in Staines, has benefitted greatly in recent years from improvements in shops and restaurants. These are increasingly making Staines a destination for shoppers and for those visiting the town for the cinema, restaurants, coffee shops and other leisure facilities. Losing Waitrose will drive town centre visitors away to surrounding areas, affecting the prosperity of Staines and significantly diminishing the value of the shopping centre to the local community.
Likewise, the improved economic situation locally and nationally is being reflected in a large number of housing developments taking place within the area. Many of these developments are taking place in close proximity to the town centre – for those developments to thrive as part of the community, a town centre supermarket is essential.
Whether you’re a regular shopper at Waitrose, or simply pick up a few items when you’re passing, the store is a huge benefit to Staines town centre. Please sign so that we can do everything possible to keep the store open, save the jobs of the staff employed there and maintain a quality supermarket presence in Staines town centre.
