High street pharmacy giant Boots permanently shut down two more branches on Saturday (March 16) as it moves forward with its plan to close 300 stores.
The Wrightson House branch at the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Teesside and the Aslake Close pharmacy in Sprowston were closed for good, according to BirminghamLive.
The pharmacy giant and chemist announced that all their prescriptions from its branch in Sprowston will be moved to Lawson Road Health Centre, with the nearest
Boots branches located in London Street and Aylsham Road.
The closure of the branch at the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Teesside was confirmed to the public with a notice placed in the shop window, informing customers
about nearby Boots stores to collect their prescriptions.
The notice reads: "We are closing. This store will close, on March 16, 2024. Your nearest store for collecting prescriptions will be Thornaby Health Centre,
Trenchard Avenue, TS17 OEE. Other stores nearby are: 12-14 High Street, Teesside Retail Park, Norton, TS20 1DN 21B Goodwood Square, TSI7 7BW."
Boots customers were left disappointed as the retail giant closed three more branches, two in Kent and one in Glasgow.
On Sunday 21 January, Boots' branches in Cliftonville and Biggin Hill were closed, forcing locals to find an alternative pharmacy, Express.co.uk reported.
Cliftonville residents have taken to social media to express their disappointment over the closure of their local pharmacy on Northdown Road.
Even though there is another Boots branch in Margate, they said that Cliftonville branch is "much more accessible, with parking available right outside, on
the bus route and surrounded by a residential area within easy walking distance."
One resident has branded the retailer's decision as "crazy", as per the news portal.
Boots is reportedly closing another branch in Watton, Norfolk from January, after shutting its High Street branch in Gorleston last month.
The Boots store would be one of the four pharmacies expected to be closed next year in the county, which saw closures of six pharmacies in recent months,
according to a BBC report.
However, the retailer hasn't made any announcement regarding the Watton closure or commented on its decision to shut its Gorleston branch.
If the Boots' branch in Watton is closed, the town will be left with only one pharmacy to cater to the healthcare needs of a population of about 12,000, and
this is the concern people in the area have expressed.
Conservative councillor Tina Kiddell told BBC: "I do worry how they are going to cope, they're already incredibly overwhelmed now."
Boots has shut down three more stores, as it moves forward with its plan to close 300 stores across the UK over the next 12 months.
On Saturday (18 November), Boots closed its branches in Mudge Way, Plymouth; Mount Pleasant Road, Exeter; and Low Moor Road, Kirkby, Ashfield.
The NHS issued a memo to shoppers and patients who use the Plymouth branch, which is located next to Plympton Health Centre, to inform them that "you will
need to find and nominate another pharmacy to dispense your prescriptions going forward."
Patients can set their nomination by contacting their new pharmacy and requesting "they do this for you."
According to DevonLive, a note was attached to the Mount Pleasant pharmacy door that read: "Boots Mount Pleasant Store will close on Saturday, November 18 2023.
Over a century-year-old Boots pharmacy in St James's Street, Brighton shut its doors permanently on Saturday (20 January) leaving the communities disappointed.
The branch in Kemp Town, which was opened to the public for the first time in 1914, was supposed to close on November 19 last year but continued trading into
the new year, The Argus reported.
Locals are not happy with the retailer's decision to close the store as some say it used to be "always busy with prescriptions and people buying things."
Another person recalled that Boots had earlier closed two pharmacies, one on Lewes Road, Brighton, and another on Church Road, Hove.
The American-owned health and wellbeing chain is in the process of closing more UK branches in the coming months as it's targeting to reduce its store portfolio
to 1,900 from 2,200.