Shop hit by the Tesco effect

CLOSED . . . Uppermill’s Spar shop

After more than 18 years Uppermill is to lose its popular high street Spar store.

The store is to close, putting seven assistants out of work.

A senior spokesman for Alfred Jones, which operates 70 Spar stores across the M62 corridor, said: “The economic conditions and increased rent have forced us not to renew the lease next month.

“When Tesco arrived in Greenfield we saw a downturn in business and, coupled with rent increase, the store has not been profitable.”

The closure was treated with shock and surprise by local residents.

At Warburton Court retirement home, opposite the store, residents used to cross the street to pick up groceries.

The house manager said: “This closure will have a massive impact on my residents. It was so convenient for them to walk out for bread or milk. I have 57 residents and a lot of them can’t get as far as other stores in the centre of the village.”