ONE of the town’s oldest retailers, WH Smith, is to close in January.
It is among a dozen retailers on Cheapside and May Day Green being turfed out of the Metropolitan Centre in less than four months’ time so the council can press ahead with a £15m refurbishment of the building as part of the Better Barnsley regeneration scheme.
The businesses have been told they must be out by no later than January 31 so the whole area can be fenced off to allow construction to start on a new meat and fish market on Cheapside, the first phase of the Metropolitan Centre’s revamp.
The Chronicle has contacted WH Smith to discuss the closure but it was not able to provide a comment in time for publication. However, a source at the store said it has ‘nowhere to go’ once it shuts in the new year and the keys will be handed back on February 1.
Many retailers on the Cheapside / May Day Green side of the Metropolitan Centre have not yet secured alternative premises. However, it is understood some are in negotiations for units in the Alhambra centre, on Market Street and other parts of the town centre.
Read more in this weeks Barnsley Chronicle
