Banbury's Homebase store set to close its doors permanently before Christmas

Closing signs went up on the entrance to the Southam Road store yesterday (Wednesday October 11) to give customers a heads-up about its closure.

Staff at the store say the home improvement, DIY, and garden equipment store will be shutting down for good on Saturday, December 2, although this is still to be confirmed by head office.

A number of products at the Banbury store are now discounted, including home decorations and paint, but plants are not included in the clearance sale.

Following the closure of the store, which opened in the 2000s, the nearest Homebase store will be in Bicester, 14 miles away.

The troubled company previously closed 42 stores in 2018 in a bid to cut costs, and this year it repaid a £132 million loan to owner Hilco after receiving millions from the government in Covid support.

B&M have been rumoured to be taking over the premises although this is yet to be confirmed by its head office.