Amble’s Co-op closure announcement
Residents were shocked and disappointed to hear that the Co-op food store on Queen Street is closing on 22 February.
The food store will close on 22 February 2025
A spokesperson for Co-op, said: “We carry-out reviews of our existing store locations, and sometimes, and only after very careful consideration, do we take the difficult decision to close a store. Our store in Queen Street, Amble, will close next month, our priority now is to fully support colleagues, who have been informed, and we would like to thank the community for its support of this store.”
Ten people currently work at the store.
The spokesperson added, “The site is leasehold. So, it will be readied to hand back to the landlord. Co-op will not have an involvement over the future use of the site.”
They also confirmed that Co-op Funeralcare Amble will remain open.
Julia Aston, director of Amble Development Trust said “It’s extremely disappointing news for the town. This decision seems to have come about rather quickly. Given that the Co-op is for its members, I don’t think any of its local members were consulted over this closure.
“We will be trying to make contact with the property owner to see what plans if any they may have for the future of the building.”
Anna Williams
The Co-op’s long history in Amble
Staff at Amble Co-op Chemist in 1974. l-r: Lynn Cleghorn, Ada King, Shirley Milne, Doris Highgate and Pharmacist William Adamson. Photo: Shirley Dawson.
The Co-op has held a presence in Amble for 144 years, leaving a huge legacy in the town. Untold numbers of people have worked, benefitted and shopped under the banner of the members-owned society. The Co-op’s much vaunted ethos claimed to support people from the cradle to the grave.
The Amble Co-operative Society was founded in 1880. The area it initially covered included Warkworth, Radcliffe, Shilbottle and even Alnwick. Since then, there have been numerous outlets throughout the town.
This included grocery and butchers shops, a pharmacy, a dairy, garage, shoe shop, DIY, bakery and cafe, ladies and menswear, furniture and non-food, a bank, insurance agency, offices, and a funeral parlour. The Co-op even had their own gardens on Gloster Hill. There were premises on Albert St, Queen St and Newburgh St.
The Co-op department store closed in 2006. The building now houses shops, a restaurant, and flats above.
However, the Co-op has undergone several corporate reorganisations in recent decades, meaning close historical ties to the original society and the town have gradually reduced. The Amble Co-operative Society was replaced by the North Eastern Co-op in the early 1970s. The current food store is owned by The Co-operative Group.
Julia Aston of Amble Development Trust remembered her time working in the office at the Co-op: “My first job was to answer the switchboard which consisted of pegs, ‘eyeballs’, switches and a winding handle. I loved that switchboard! Then I had to sort the cheque slips out to be added up for the dividend.”
The Co-op store gardens pictured in 1938. They were situated on Gloster Hill where Mariners View is now. They eventually closed in the 1960s. Photo from Fiona Hamilton.
Did you work for the Co-op in Amble? We’d love to hear your memories of those days.
