Boots will bid farewell to one of its stores this weekend forcing local customers to find an alternative pharmacy.
It comes as part of a second wave of closures after the health and beauty chain confirmed the loss of 300 branches nationwide.
A handful of Boots sites have already shut shop this year in locations ranging from West Sussex to Wigan.
Now, pharmacy-goers in Clifton, York will see their local branch axed on Saturday, February 17.
The news comes as sad news to residents who have made efforts to save or quickly replace the Boots store through a petition.
Sharing his appeal on X, formerly Twitter, Clifton local Danny Myers who started the petition wrote: “I am a resident of Clifton, and I know the difficulty our community faces due to the lack of a local pharmacy.
“Since the closure of Lloyds Pharmacy on Intake Avenue and the Boots Pharmacy on Clifton Green this February, there is a severe gap in community pharmacy services for Clifton residents. This creates an unfair delivery of service to Clifton residents compared to the rest of the city.”
The petition founder noted that the loss of the Boots pharmacy would add to the problem due to the “many elderly and vulnerable individuals” in the community, who “would benefit from a local pharmacy”.
As the UK’s largest pharmacy chain and one of the most trusted brands in the country, Boots plays a vital role as a community pharmacy, across the nation.
But it’s becoming more uncommon on British high streets after months of closures have seen dozens of branches disappear.
Just weeks ago, Boots in Wood Street, Swindon closed down for good and was preceded by the Pemberton branch in Wigan, Leyland branch in Hough Lane, and Littlehampton pharmacy in West Sussex.
At least 22 Boots pharmacies were axed in 2023, and more will follow suit in the coming months.
