Boots and Costa Coffee will be closing several stores for good this upcoming week.

The high street has really taken a hit over the last few years and a significant amount of shops have shut down with more set to disappear in the coming years.

Research carried out by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) found that 6,000 shops have closed down for good in Britain in the past five years. Chief executive Helen Dickinson blamed the closures on "crippling" business rates and the impact of lockdowns during the Coronavirus pandemic. The BRC boss said these all played a role in decisions to close stores, and caution in opening new ones.

Later this week, Costa Coffee will be shutting its Blackpool branch. The site on Church Street in Melvern will close for trade on November 17. The caffeine giant has around 2,000 sites nationwide and has shut a handful of branches over the recent few months.

Costa Coffee says it regularly reviews its store estate across the UK to ensure it's right for its communities and teams. This can include the closing or renovation of existing stores, or the opening of new stores. The news was confirmed in a statement by the coffee chain to Worcester News with the spokesperson adding that the nearest Costa chain for Melvern residents will now be on Roman Way.

After this, two more Boots branches will be closed on Saturday, November 18. The pharmacy branch on Mount Pleasant Road in Exeter and the store on Low Moor Road in Kirkby in Ashfield are set to close for good. Signs were places in both of the stores informing customers of the closure dates according to local reports.

The closures come as the pharmacy and beauty retailer pushes ahead with its plans to close around 300 stores. Boots announced earlier this year that it was planning to reduce their locations from 2,200 to 1,900 as part of its “consolidation programme”.

Sadly, both of these sites are part of the mass closure plans. However, Boots said that each store set to close will have another Boots branch nearby.

Full list of stores closing this week

  • Costa Coffee - Church Street, Malvern - closing Friday, November 17
  • Boots - Mount Pleasant Road, Exeter - closing on Saturday, November 18
  • Boots - Kirkby Ashfield - closing on Saturday, November 18