THERE are claims of a “stink” over the decision by Boots to close over a dozen stores across the UK in just a few weeks.
The pharmacy chain has announced plans to cull stores across the UK as the health and beauty chain adjusts to challenging conditions on the high street.
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But the decision to close close nearly all of its Plymouth pharmacies had let to calls of a “stink.”
Plymouth MP Luke Pollard hit out at the retailer. Speaking to his local paper Mr Pollard said: “Boots are putting profits before people and it stinks.
“I want to see alternative providers take over these pharmacies if Boots insists on shutting them down.”
The MP was responding to concern at the loss of the pharmacies Boots provided in the area.
Cllr Mary Aspinall, Cabinet Member for Health on Plymouth City Council, said: “Each of the pharmacies Boots plan to close are incredibly important to the local communities they serve – many in high-need areas.
“It would be a huge blow for patients in Plymouth to lose them.”
There has also been disquiet over plans by Boots to shut shops in other parts of the country.
A proposal to close a store on Wigan Road in Bryn, Wigan has led to particular concern.
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Paul Woods, who is disabled and partially sighted, said: “It’s devastating. This Boots is at the hub of the local community and always extremely busy.
It is also the end user for the vast majority of prescriptions issued by Bryn Cross Surgery, which is directly next door.”
David Jones, who represents Clwyd West in North Wales, said he was “dismayed” two branches will close in 2024.
The pharmacy chain is pulling down the shutters on its site in Rhos on Sea in March next year. The retailer will then close its shop in Colywn Bay the following month.
In a statement, MP David Jones branded the closures “hugely bad news for the local community”.
He said: “This is not a case of simple shop closures.
A total of 20 branches have already closed, in Leicester, York, Plymouth and Exeter.
And a further 16 are set to close shortly, with several shutting in the New Year.
The health and beauty chain has said where stores are closing there is an alternative shop less than three miles away.
In 2020, Boots announced 48 opticians were closing with the loss of 4,000 jobs. They said the decision to close stores was not taken lightly.
Boots last closed more than 200 stores over 18 months in 2019. This saw roughly eight per cent of Boots high street branches close.
Many of the stores shut because they were loss-making and two-thirds of them were within walking distance of each other.
A spokesperson for Boots previously said: “Evolving the store estate in this way allows Boots to concentrate its team members where they are needed and focus investment more acutely in individual stores with the ambition of consistently delivering an excellent and reliable service in a fresh and up-to-date environment.”
