Morrisons has revealed which shops it is closing – and one is in York.
Around 100 convenience stores will close as the supermarket faces cost pressures it says have been worsened by “Government policy”.
The Morrisons Daily in Moorcroft Road, Woodthorpe is on the closure list.
In an email to councillors, a Morrisons spokesperson said: “Following a detailed review, the store is being proposed for closure.
“For context, the store was part of Morrisons acquisition of McColl’s in 2022 and has been loss-making for a sustained period despite concerted effort and investment to improve performance.
“Rising operating costs in recent years have made it even more difficult to return the store to profitability and we see no viable pathway to achieve this.
“Closure would happen no earlier than Friday 17 July.”
Car park charges concern
The Morrisons Daily stores in York on Gale Lane, Crichton Avenue, Hamilton Drive West, Heworth Road, as well as in Haxby and Strensall, will remain open.
The company’s main supermarkets in Acomb and Foss Islands Road are unaffected.
When it announced the closure campaign, Morrisons said: “This situation has been exacerbated in more recent years by significant cost increases resulting from Government policy choices, which have made returning these stores to profitability even more difficult.
“Having completed the review, we are now proposing to take the tough but necessary decision to close a number of these stores over the next few months.”
The loss of the Moorcroft Road store puts the Woodthorpe Post Office under threat, as it operates a counter inside the branch.
Dringhouses & Woodthorpe’s Lib Dem Cllr Stephen Fenton said: “The loss of both the Morrisons store and the Post Office counter would be a real double whammy for local residents.
“Lib Dem councillors successfully campaigned for Post Office counter services to be reinstated after the former Woodthorpe Post Office closed back in 2019 and we will do so again.
“My focus now is on working with Morrisons and the Post Office to ensure that there is no gap in service and I have called on Morrisons to keep the store open until a new home can be found for the Post Office.
“It is possible that the Morrisons store has been adversely affected by the parking charges introduced on the site by the landowner which has put off some residents from using the car park at the rear of the store for fear of being fined.
“My colleagues and I led the campaign for the landowner to re-think their approach, with some concessions being made as a result.”
A petition has been set up which residents are invited to sign which seeks to demonstrate support for retaining Post Office services locally. The online petition can be signed here.
