Ortongate Poundland closure a ‘sign of the times’
Local councillors have voiced their disappointment at the confirmed closure of the Poundland store at Ortongate Shopping Centre in Peterborough.
Poundland took over from Wilko in unit 19 at Ortongate Shopping Centre in 2023.
However, it was announced in July this year that the store would be one of many stores nationally that would close under Poundland’s restructuring and recovery plan.
The Ortongate store will close on August 24, leaving just three Poundland stores in Peterborough at the Hereward Cross Shopping Centre, the Bretton Centre and at the Brotherhood Retail Park.
North West Cambridgeshire MP Sam Carling said the closure was “another reminder of the pressure local centres are under”.
Independent city councillor Julie Stevenson, of the Orton Waterville ward, shared a similar view.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It is a shame because it wasn’t that long ago that Wilko went, but I think it is just a sign of the times.
“I know the team at Ortongate work very hard to try and fill all of those units and also open it up to the community as well.
“Local people have a lot of faith in Ortongate and whenever I go there the car park is always packed.”
Cllr Stevenson suggested a women’s clothing store would be a good replacement for the Poundland.
“The last thing we want is for the centre to go into decline, which it never has to be fair, but we need to attract the big brands somehow,” she added.
Another Orton Waterville councillor, Kirsty Knight, said: “I’ve got three daughters and it’s their favourite shop, so personally it has not gone down with the girls very well. It was a bit of a shocker really.
“To have Wilko go, then Poundland come in, and then for that to go, the residents are upset and very sad.”
Speaking about the Ortongate Shopping Centre as a whole, Cllr Knight felt the “wrong shops” were going in.
“We had a cosmetic surgery from London in there and that’s not Orton, it’s not going to be used. That didn’t last long and closed,” she said.
“There’s now a betting shop ready to go in but we’ve just lost one.
“I just feel that they’re not really listening to the residents because what’s needed is a shop like Aldi, Lidl or a clothes shop. Losing Poundland is going to be an absolute blow.”
Poundland’s retail director Darren MacDonald said the store closures were “sincerely regrettable” but were needed to secure the future of thousands of jobs and hundreds of stores.
Ortongate Shopping Centre was approached for comment.