THE managing director of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce has called the permanent closure of a Carlisle city centre supermarket a 'huge loss'. 

This comes as Tesco confirmed that it would be closing its Victoria Viaduct store permanently on Saturday, October 14 - though it will be looking for alternative premises.

The supermarket becomes the latest store to be shut in the city centre following the closure of Wilko last week.

In the wake of the announcement, Suzanne Caldwell, managing director of the Cumbria Chamber of Commerce called the closure a 'huge loss' for Carlisle and suggested that the supermarket should look to move into one of the many empty lots in the city centre.

She said: "The permanent closure of Tesco on Victoria Viaduct will be a huge loss to many people given its location.

"Given they say they are looking for alternative premises and it’s a build issue that does seem to reinforce that the demand is there from customers.

"Given the number of empty premises, you would think that they should be able to find an alternative site in the city centre.

"So hopefully we’ll see them reopening in a new location soon, but in the meantime, it is a blow to customers and another loss for the city centre."

Suzanne also suggested that a potential 'solution' to the problems currently facing the Carlisle city centre is to encourage people to live and work there, with supermarkets like Tescos playing a vital role in this scenario.

She said: "Part of the solution for Carlisle must be to get more people living and working right in the centre of the city.

"If we’re taking that route it’s even more important we have retailers like Tesco in the city centre itself."

The initial decision to close the Carlisle supermarket was taken in June 2022 but was not due to take place until an alternative site for a store in the area was found.

However, 'issues with the building' on Victoria Viaduct have forced Tesco to close the store, with a member of staff at the branch telling the News & Star that these issues related to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

Commenting on the Tesco closure, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Carlisle, Julie Minns also said: “This is hugely disappointing news for our town centre.

"My thoughts are with the staff affected, and clearly, their safety and that of customers must come first, but given the recent closure of Wilkos and B&M in the city centre I will be contacting Tesco to discuss how they can continue to serve the city centre shoppers, especially those who cannot easily travel to our larger supermarkets."