BINGLEY has been dealt a 'huge blow' after a supermarket chain says it will shut its town branch for good next month.

Sainsbury's Local, located on Main Street, will be shutting its doors for good from 4pm on Saturday, March 5.

The notice on the front door of the store adds the nearest Sainsbury's stores to Bingley are at The Broadway, Bradford and Bradford Road, Menston.

The supermarket chain has confirmed that it will be closing its town store, adding it will be working with its staff 'to support them in any way we can'.

Jamie Illingworth, president of Bingley Chamber of Trade and Commerce, hopes the site will be re-let quickly to avoid a prominent site being empty for too long.

He said: "It is very disappointing to hear that Sainsbury's are moving out of the town.

"I hope we can find a new tenant quickly to replace that prominent area of the Main Street.

"It is never good when we are losing a national retailer. It's going to be sadly missed."

Councillor Geoff Winnard (Con, Bingley) says the competition from nearby locations, including Lidl, the Co-op and Marks & Spencer, may have contributed to the closure of the Sainsbury's site.

He said: "It's very disappointing for Bingley.

"It's going to be very difficult to find a new tenant in such a prominent position on our high street.

"It is a huge blow to Bingley town centre.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

"Everybody needs to work together to find a suitable tenant to fill this key bit of the high street.

"It's not entirely surprising, but it's very disappointing."

"If that site is going to be empty for some time, it's not going to be good for Bingley."

Fellow Bingley councillor Marcus Dearden (Lab) says the closure of Sainsbury’s also sees the lose of a cashpoint to residents which is part of the store and a collection point for parcels for people.

He added: “It’s going to be another loss for Bingley.

“Bingley seems to struggle to attract the high street names into the town.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: “We have made the difficult to decision to close our Bingley Local store next month.

"We understand this will be an unsettling time for those affected and we’re supporting them in any way we can.

"We hope to welcome customers to our other nearby stores, including our Keighley store."

The branch opened in late 2014, after permission was granted in May that year for the food retail giant to take over a former Co-op shop in Main Street and the long-established Pizza Hut restaurant next door.

It also ends Sainsbury's association with Bingley after the chain sold the former Bradford & Bingley site to one of its supermarket rivals.

Sainsbury’s, the site’s owner, sold the land to fellow supermarket giant Lidl, who opened their store on the site in 2019.