Temporary closure of Castletown shop will inconvenience customers, says community council
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THE temporary closure of a shop and post office in Castletown will inconvenience customers and be "bad for older people."
That is the view of local community councillors who voiced concern the store in the Main Street in the village has shut to allow equipment and fittings to be replaced.
The Morrisons Daily shop is set to be taken on by the SPAR group. Morrisons acquired the premises in 2022 as part of a deal which involved over 1000 McColl's convenience stores throughout the country, including four in Caithness.
But the company recently announced that its lease of the Castletown shop has ended after just a few months. It is understood SPAR will take over the shop shortly. However, it will be shut until all the fittings are taken out and replaced but no timescale has been given although it is thought to be a few weeks.
The issue was raised at last week's meeting of the Castletown and District Community Council. Secretary, Liz Geddes, was surprised an agreement was not reached between Morrisons and SPAR regarding the equipment although it was suggested it might be used at Morrisons other shops in Thurso and Halkirk.
The temporary closure of the store and post office will impact on local people and could cause difficulties for senior citizens, it was felt.
"It will be bad for older people," said John Calder. Mrs Geddes agreed: "It is not good," she added.
However, it was pointed out that the village butcher stocks grocery items while, it is understood, arrangements have been made for the local papers to go to the nearby garage.
Last year, Morrisons took over more than 1100 McColls stores and 16,000 staff throughout the UK, including the shops in Main Street, Castletown; Sinclair Street, Halkirk; Provost Sinclair Road, Thurso and Mount Pleasant, also Thurso.
At the time, the company described the deal as "a good outcome" and said it offered "stability and continuity for the business."
SPAR is a Dutch multinational retail chain that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932 and has over 13,000 stores in more than 40 countries. Its headquarters are in Amsterdam.
The United Kingdom became a member of SPAR in 1956 when the company granted a group of independent wholesalers the licence. There are five regional partners in the UK with strategically placed distribution centres in each region.
