The Midcounties Co-op store at Templars Square shopping centre is to close next year.

That was the announcement today from Midcounties chief executive officer Philip Ponsonby, who said the branch at the Cowley centre would be closing, with efforts made to redeploy all staff at other stores.

The decision reflects the long-term trading position of the store and is not connected to the impact of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, Mr Ponsonby added.

READ MORE: Co-op issues warnings over East Oxford LTNs 

He revealed the closure plan in a letter to the Oxford Mail seeking to reassure customers about the future of the Iffley Road and Cowley Road Co-op stores.

Last month the Midcounties Co-operative said its Iffley Road and Cowley Road stores had seen a downturn in trade because of the controversial traffic calming measures.

Oxford Mail: Midcounties Co-op in Iffley RoadAnd the company warned that the “commercial viability” of these stores would be put under question if the LTNs were to continue.

As part of consultation with the county council Co-op bosses revealed that the Iffley Road store has seen a 4.6 per cent decrease in trading compared with the previous year, while the Cowley Road store was down 21.13 per cent.

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This reduction compared with an average five per cent increase across non-LTN Co-op stores in the same period.

Now Mr Ponsonby has indicated that the two East Oxford stores are not under threat.

He said in his letter: "The (Oxford Mail) article quoted from a letter Midcounties Co-op sent to the county council seeking a discussion with both the city and county councils about a reduction in business rates to alleviate the fall in trade we have seen at both these stores.

"As a member-owned organisation we have a responsibility to make representations on behalf of our members that seek to protect our interests.

Oxford Mail: Midcounties Co-op in Cowley Road"I can though reassure our members and customers that we have no intention of closing these stores as a result of the introduction of Low Traffic Neighbourhood measures and that they remain an important part of our food retail business."

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He said staff at the Templars Square store were told about the closure plans earlier this week.

He added: "Earlier this week we announced to colleagues in our Templars Square store in Cowley that we will be closing this store next year.

"We plan to relocate the Post Office to one of our stores nearby and hope to be able to find alternative roles for all our colleagues working at the store.

"The announcement reflects the long-term trading position of the store and is not connected to any impact from the LTN measures."

No date has yet been given for the Templars Square Co-op closure.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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