Scope charity shop at 60-62 Northbrook Street in Newbury is closing this Saturday

A charity shop on Newbury’s high street will be closing down for good this weekend.

Scope, located at 60-62 Northbrook Street, will close on Saturday, December 2.

A note on the door of the shop stated: “We want to thank all of you that have donated and shopped and supported us over the many years. We will miss you all.”

The note also urged people not to donate any more items to the shop during or after the closure.

Scope is a disability equality charity that operates in England and Wales and provides practical information and emotional support to those that need it and campaigns to create a fairer society for disabled people.

Scope’s head of retail Debbie Boylen said: “We were very sad to close our charity shop in Newbury, we have had such incredible support from this wonderful and generous community.

“We never take the decision to close our stores lightly, recognising the impact it has on both our store teams, volunteers and our customers.

“However, in certain locations across the UK, some of our stores no longer remain viable to trade, but we always hope we can relocate to another part of the town or nearby, if the opportunity presents itself.

“The cost of living crisis, coupled with the pandemic, has placed an enormous pressure on stores trading on high streets across the UK, with significant and lengthy closure periods.

“Scope is sometimes faced with very difficult decisions to close our stores.

“We need to ensure we can raise the vital funds that our incredible stores generate in their communities, so the charity can continue to provide vital support services for the country’s 16 million disabled people and their families.”

Scope’s nearest charity shops outside of Newbury are located in Fleet and Andover.