NELSON'S only department store is to close with the loss of 14 jobs in another body blow to the town centre.

The closure of Living, due on June 6, means there will be no Co-op retail outlet in Nelson or Colne for the first time since last century.

The town was once a stronghold for the Co-operative with 32 shops and 18 farms and it owned part of the land where the Arndale shopping centre stands.

Labour stalwart Len Dole, chairman of Lancashire regional Co-op committee, said: "It is a sad day for the Co-op.

"When the Arndale was built the Co-op made an agreement with the then builders, Town and City Developers, to have a peppercorn rent on a long lease.

"We have fought for as long as we could to save Nelson's only department store but it seems we have not been successful. It is a sorry day for Nelson."

The Co-op pulled out of food retailing in the mid 1980s and continued with the department store since then, often struggling to make the outlet pay. Although Co-op Retail Services is pulling out of the loss-making store, which sold everything from clothing to bedding, curtains to glass and cookware, the Co-op may still be responsible for the lease and may have to pay rent on the premises until a new retailer is found to take over the outlet which spreads over two floors.

When the Arndale opened in the late 1960s, the Co-op's department store Quality House and nearby supermarket formed the flagship.

Ironically, in two days' time, the Arndale is being relaunched as the Admiral Centre after a major external refurbishment and access improvements.

Co-operative's corporate communications manager David Boardman said: "The smaller under-performing stores do not allow for the depth of product range required by the business. We greatly regret having to announce the closure of the store and having to make 14 staff redundant."

The Arndale Centre will be re-launched as the Admiral Centre on Saturday, with a model contest, children's entertainment, line dancing displays and in-store promotions.

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