Town fights Laura Ashley closure

The Laura Ashley shop in Llanidloes is expected to shut next month

The town which hosted the first store in Wales by fashion chain Laura Ashley has pledged to fight the company's decision to close it.

The shop in Llanidloes opened after the late designer and her husband moved from Kent to Powys in 1961.

Meanwhile, Powys Council has written to the firm asking for a meeting to discuss the plans to close the shop on 12 January.

The Laura Ashley company has been asked for a comment.

But it has told the Shropshire Star newspaper the store was too small for its product range.

Llanidloes mayor David Jones and town county councillor Gareth Morgan said the firm had tried to close the shop in the past.

The fight is not over yet: Llanidloes doesn't give up easily Mayor David Jones

The Great Oak Street premises in Llanidloes are expected to shut for the last time on 12 January.

It was the first Laura Ashley store to open in Wales in 1976.

Mr Morgan said: "A letter has gone from Powys County Council and from the Welsh Assembly Government asking them to meet representatives from the county to discuss the situation and to reconsider.

"Preferably they could come down and meet us, but we are happy to meet them anywhere to discuss it.

"And I hope this time we can persuade them that they should change their minds, as we did on a previous occasion.

"On no account are we going to cave in. We are going to fight this very very hard because it's a vitally important retail outfit for the town."

Town mayor Mr Jones said the news had been a "real blow" to Laura Ashley staff in Llanidloes.

He added: "The fight is not over yet: Llanidloes doesn't give up easily."

By 1981, when the firm moved into home furnishings, it had 5,000 retail outlets worldwide.

But the company ran into financial difficulties in the 1990s, and it was eventually bought out.