A POPULAR and “convenient” supermarket has closed its doors, sparking further concerns for the future of the town centre.

Last year company bosses at Sainsbury’s confirmed its shop in Clacton High Street would shut sometime in January.

The building has now been reportedly boarded up and customers no longer have access to inside.

A Sainsbury’s spokesman has now confirmed the closure.

He said: “Our Clacton-on-Sea store has now closed and we are doing everything we can to find alternative roles within Sainsbury’s for those affected.

“Customers can continue to shop with us at our nearby stores."

Steven Burdon, whose wife would shop at the Sainsbury’s store as much as three times a week, says he is sad to see it go.

He said: “It is a shame they have closed the store down because it was cheap and to many people it was convenient.

“I think it would have been wise for Sainsbury’s to have kept that store open for a few more months, especially during the lockdown.

“But now it will be a hindrance for the town centre, so I think the council need to approach a big chain store, like Farmfoods, to take over as soon as possible.

“Something needs to be brought back to the town. before it becomes a ghost town with empty stores.”

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t remains unknown why Sainsbury’s decided to call it a day in the town centre, but some residents have speculated the decision is a result of the lease on the building coming to an end.

The closure comes just over a year after the supermarket chain revealed plans to axe 15 stores within two years, but also open ten new ones over the next five years.