North East Herts MP slams plans to close Royston’s Morrisons

North East Herts MP Sir Oliver Heald has slammed Morrisons closure plans for its Royston Store.

A resident of the town, Sir Oliver, told the Crow: “I was shocked to learn that Morrison’s are considering shutting the Royston store. I have been a long-term customer and I know how many older people use the shop regularly.

“This is devastating news for the loyal shop staff, who have worked so hard during the COVID-19 crisis. I shall be contacting the chief executive to ask him to reconsider.

“I hope our local councils will do the same. We do not want to lose our largest town centre supermarket.”

Morrisons revealed plans to potentially close the store in Baldock Street this morning.

A Morrisons spokeswoman said: “We are proposing to close our Royston store as the lease has come to an end. We have reviewed our options but we don’t believe any are viable.

“This difficult decision is in no way a reflection of the efforts of our hardworking colleagues. We will now begin a consultation process at the store and will be discussing how to reduce redundancies and, where possible, redeploy our highly valued colleagues within the business.”

Morrisons has not disclosed a time frame for the consultation process or a proposed closure date.

If it does close, the nearest Morrisons would be 10 miles away in Letchworth, or in Cambourne – 12 miles away.