Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Fresh blow for Lochee as Greggs set to close
BAKERY giant Greggs has confirmed it will be moving out of Lochee High Street, despite a community push for it to stay open.
A spokeswoman for the company confirmed to the Tele that the branch is to close and staff will be redeployed elsewhere. She declined to reveal an exact date for the closure.
The news follows months of speculation over Greggs’ future in Lochee, and comes j ust three months after the bakery giant denied it was considering closing the branch.
It is another blow for Lochee following the departures of Superdrug and Santander in recent months.
Myles McCallum, of the Village of Lochee Partnership, described the closure as a “disappointment”. But he vowed the group would fight to keep the bakery open, just as it had successfully lobbied Semichem into a U-turn.
He said: “We did it with Semichem earlier this year — we’re hoping to do the same here.
“We want to keep as many businesses in Lochee as we can or it risks turning into a ghost town.
“Every time I’m in there there’s always someone in, and there’s usually a queue at lunchtime. I can’t see why they’re closing, whether there’s cutbacks or something, It can’t be down to a lack of footfall.
“There are worries that if a big company like Greggs can’t survive i n t he High Street then how will the small businesses do?
“There have been some more small businesses coming into Lochee lately so it’s not all bad news – but we’re trying to keep businesses here.”
Lochee councillors Michael Marra and Charlie Malone said they were very disappointed at the news. Councillor Marra said: “Another business lost to the High Street is a blow to Lochee. “Councillor Malone and I will be writing to the management of Greggs to ask them to reconsider — just as SemiChem has done.’ Councillor Malone said: “Rumours of this closure have been circulating for some time. Such a closure sends the wrong message when the community is working so hard to build a brighter future for Lochee. “I sincerely hope there can be a change of heart and that Greggs can be a part of that positive future local people are working for.”