Oxfordshire village Co-op store to permanently close

The Midcounties Co-Operative in Dorchester, near Wallingford, has been a much-valued food shop in the High Street of the village.

But the company has confirmed it will be closing the store and selling the building in the near future, after it became ‘financially unsustainable’ to continue trading.

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No other store location could be found and the village is going to be left without a supermarket.

A spokesperson for Midcounties Co-Operative said: “As a Co-operative Society owned by our members, we regularly review our estate to ensure our stores are profitable and provide an essential purpose within the communities they serve.

The Midcounties Co-Operative in Dorchester High Street will close (Image: Google)

“As part of this process, and after careful consideration, the society has made the difficult decision to close our Dorchester-on-Thames store.

“Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of all of our colleagues, the store has been financially unsustainable for some time and there is no viable opportunity to improve the financial position of the store.

“We have also explored other options in the local area to potentially relocate but regrettably have been unable to secure any other suitable location on this occasion.

“Our first priority is to offer our support to all colleagues during what we recognise will be a difficult time.

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“We have now entered a formal consultation period with those colleagues affected and, where possible, will look to identify suitable alternative roles within our wider society.

 “At this time, the store remains open for trading as usual and we will keep colleagues and the wider community informed about potential timelines for the closure.

“We look forward to continuing to welcome our members and customers at our food stores across the region, including our Berinsfield food store, just over one mile away.” 

The Midcounties Co-operative in Dorchester High Street will close (Image: Google)

A statement from Dorchester Parish Council made shortly after the announcement said: “This clearly raises a number of questions for us as a community, which values its shop.

“In response to this news, we can let you know that the parish council is already discussing behind the scenes with parties’ ways of keeping a store on site but at this stage it is not possible to share more details on this.”

The council said one option is registering the shop as an asset of community value, which will be discussed at the next parish council meeting, and further information will be shared when possible.

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Freddie van Mierlo, MP for Henley and Thame (Lib Dem) said he’s asked Co-op about the closure (Image: Freddie van Mierlo)

Freddie van Mierlo, MP for Henley and Thame (Liberal Democrat), said: “I’ve written to the co-op to ask why they plan to close this vital shop for the community.

“Residents have shared with me their concerns who are worried about the impact this will have on the village.”

No closure date for the shop has yet been announced.