WHSmith and Post Office reveal closure date for Blackpool town centre store

The British retailer will shut up shop in the resort at 5.30pm on Saturday, January 16 next year, it has confirmed.

The retail chain said its lease in Bank Hey Street is due to expire in the new year and it has decided not to renew it due to dwindling trade.

The WHSmith store is also home to the resort's town centre Post Office, which says it is urgently seeking a new location.

A WHSmith spokesman said: "We can confirm that the WHSmith store in Blackpool will be closing in January 2021.

"Unfortunately, we are unable to continue to trade viably from this location and the decision has been taken to close the store as a result of the forthcoming lease expiry.

"We are currently in discussion with Post Office Limited so they have time to find a suitable franchise partner to ensure continuity of Post Office services within the town.

"We are disappointed to be losing our presence in Blackpool and we would like to thank all our customers for their support and for shopping with us.

"We are also extremely grateful for the commitment of our in store colleagues who we will support with this transition and redeploy to nearby stores, where possible."

A Post Office spokesman added: "The operator for Blackpool Post Office has announced the difficult decision to close their store, where the Post Office is based, on January 16 at 5.30pm.

"We know how important a Post Office is to a community and we are working hard to maintain services.

"We hope to be able to provide an up-date on a solution soon."

If a new location cannot be found before January 16, the nearest Post Offices to the town centre will be 1 mile away at the Best-One shop in Whitegate Drive and the convenience store on the corner of Central Drive and Chapel Street.

In August, WHSmith said it would be closing some of its stores, with 1,500 jobs to be cut after the chain was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

The retailer, which sells books, stationary and gifts, said that it had consulted with staff over cost-cutting plans after its revenue was revealed to be down 57 per cent in July, compared with the same month in 2019.

WH Smith has not yet announced any other major store closures in Lancashire, except in Chorley, with that branch also closing when its lease expires on January 16.

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