Tesco to close Elephant & Castle store after rodent crisis

Tesco was one of the first stores to open at Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre in 1965 and has traded ever since.

The store closed unexpectedly last month for pest control works but the company indicated that the shutdown was temporary, even though the centre's days are numbered pending redevelopment.

A Tesco spokesman told us: "We have today announced to colleagues that we have taken the difficult decision to close our Elephant & Castle Metro store.

"Our priority now is to explain what this announcement means for our colleagues and wherever possible, offer them alternative roles with Tesco.

"We would like to thank all our customers who have shopped in our store and we will continue to do our best to serve them through our other local stores and dotcom service."

A spokeswoman for Delancey, the centre's landlord, said: "We can confirm Tesco has taken the decision to permanently close its unit in the shopping centre.

"This is a business decision taken by Tesco that we regrettably cannot control. Losing Tesco is a real loss to the centre and we have done all we possibly can to try to keep Tesco trading. Our centre management team have remained in constant contact with Tesco to offer support and assistance to rectify the issue. However, the decision to close has been made by Tesco's head office.

"Ensuring the shopping centre remains a safe and welcoming environment for our tenants and their customers is our number one priority, and we will continue to support all traders following the closure of Tesco."

The loss of Tesco will further accelerate the process of running down the centre. The bingo and bowling venue, which brought thousands of visitors to the complex, closed earlier this month.