Spalding shop supporting Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance to close permanently

A Spalding charity shop supporting a emergency medical crews across two counties is to close permanently, it has been announced today (Friday).

Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance has confirmed that its shop in Sheep Market will not reopen after the second lockdown ends next month.

The shop has been shut since the first national lockdown started in March and LNAA has blamed "the growing prevalence of online shopping" for its decision not to reopen it in Spalding.

Diane Eyre, LNAA's head of retail and volunteering, said: "It hasn’t been an easy or quick decision, but the pandemic added some pressure to our ongoing review process and we realised that we would need to make these changes.

"The staff and volunteers who run our shops are some of the most dedicated people you could meet and before this lockdown, they had adapted brilliantly to new ways of working."

Spalding is one of four LNAA shops, but the only one in Lincolnshire, that will stay closed after a review of the charity's retail operations.

Ms Eyre said: "These shops had suffered over the years from the growing prevalence of online shopping and other factors that over time have affected footfall in high streets up and down the country.

"But thanks to the generous donations we get from our communities, we now have a rich and varied tapestry of items to sell online.

"As this is an avenue we haven’t fully explored before, we are optimistic that it is an area of real growth, with the opportunity that we can continue this work in the midst of the pandemic."