John Lewis in Birmingham to close permanently

John Lewis has announced it will not be re-opening its Birmingham department store.

It's one of eight shops across the UK it says it is closing permanently to 'secure its long term future.'

Its Tamworth At Home store will also remain shut.

The flagship store opened at Grand Central in September 2015 as part of the station's £750million regeneration project and this year would have been its fifth year of trading.

A spokesperson for Bullring and Grand Central said it was disappointed at the decision adding that Grand Central's location in New Street station means it attracts more than 20 million visitors a year and is the busiest train station out of London.

It follows news last week that initially said some stores would remain 'temporarily closed'.

The shops identified for closure include two of the smallest in the estate - travel hub shops at Heathrow and St Pancras, four At Home shops in Croydon, Newbury, Swindon and Tamworth and two full size department stores in Birmingham and Watford.

Approximately 1,300 Partners across the eight shops will now enter into consultation.

We asked shoppers in Birmingham how they felt about the announcement:

Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Birmingham Dr Sarah Montano says: "This is going to be a really significant problem for Grand Central."

West Midlands Mayor and former John Lewis boss Andy Street spoke to presenter Matt Teale about the announcement.

The Leicester store is still set to re-open when the local lockdown ends.