The Journal reported in October that Smyths and neighbouring shop Homesense would leave the retail park in early-2025 upon the expiry of their leases.
Homesense is expected to close before the end of the month. Lidl has applied to fill both vacant units by opening its second Salisbury supermarket.
Jeni Smith, a 39-year-old firefighter with children aged eight and 10, says pupils and parents at their school were disappointed to hear about Smyths’ closure.
Her job means she often needs to stay close to home in case she gets called work, making it harder for her to visit city centre shops such as the branch of Toys R Us within WH Smith at Old George Mall.
“I was gutted when I found out,” she said.
Jeni with her two children (Image: Jeni Smith)
“I’ve got two children so we shop there a lot, such as when they have pocket money or birthday vouchers, and we go there for presents for their friends’ birthdays.
“The kids are really sad about it. There’s no need for there to be two supermarkets next to each other.
“It’s a handy place I can go when I’m on call for work. We’ve already got a Lidl, so it doesn’t make sense to me. I think it’s a sad decision.”
Cllr Chris Taylor outside Smyths (Image: Chris Taylor) Salisbury city councillor Chris Taylor (Conservative) represents the St Paul’s ward, where the retail park is situated.
“I have two grandsons that live just around the corner from me,” he said.
“My six-year-old grandson literally burst into tears when he was told the only toy shop in town was closing.
“He and his parents have established a great routine where he is rewarded with pocket money for various accomplishments which he then immediately spends at Smyths on yet another plastic dinosaur to increase his growing collection.
“The loss of our only remaining toy shop truly marks a very sad day for Salisbury.”
The retail park will soon lose its neighbouring Homesense store (Image: Newsquest) When it comes to Lidl, he says lots of people in his ward are “feeling the pinch”, so an affordable supermarket within easy reach would be “welcomed by many”.
But he has concerns about the impact on traffic the new supermarket could cause on Churchill Way and at the Castle Road roundabout, even if it could reduce congestion on Southampton Road, towards the supermarket chain’s Hatches Lane store.
He added: “The Cycling Opportunity Group of Salisbury (COGS) are quite rightly demanding that dedicated cycle route access is provided to the new store from Ashley Road via the service vehicle entrance.
“I am supporting this excellent proposal by developing two new safe cycle routes leading to Ashley Road: one along Coldharbour Lane, and one parallel to Devizes Road.”
Inside Smyths on its final day (Image: Newsquest) A Smyths Toys spokesperson said: “We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated staff and loyal customers who have supported us over the years.
“We understand the impact this may have on the community and will do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition for our employees.”
The Smyths and Homesense units could be replaced by Lidl (Image: Google/planning documents) When Lidl revealed its plans for the retail park, James Mitchell, regional head of property, said: “The demand for our high-quality, best-value products continues to grow, and we’re eager to make shopping even more convenient for customers, with our new store ideally located to serve residents in the north and west of Salisbury.”