Tesco store closure ‘a blow to city’

Mr Hamilton said that ‘this latest piece of bad news’ for the retail sector should act as a spur to the NI Executive to take the need to rejuvenate city and town centres more seriously.

“The retail sector has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic,” he said. It was already facing huge challenges but the restrictions imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19 are massive and will be felt for some time to come.

“The news that Tesco plan to close its Metro store in Royal Avenue is the latest blow to our city centre. It comes hot on the heels of the closure of Easons and starkly illustrates the difficulties that face the retail industry.

“Belfast Chamber will continue to work with the likes of Belfast City Council and our other city partners to rejuvenate and regenerate our city centre, but this should send a clear signal to the NI Executive that it needs to take this threat to the future success of our high streets more seriously”.

He added: Belfast Chamber calls on Ministers to work closely with stakeholders like ourselves to form a task force that focuses on how we can breathe renewed life back into our city and town centres and coordinates work across government towards that important aim.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you