Parents will have to find somewhere else to kit out their bundles of joy as Mothercare is to close.

The baby clothes shop, inside BHS in New Road, Gravesend, will shut its doors on Saturday, June 13, after more than 25 years of trading in the town.

Mothercare, which also has an entrance into St George’s Shopping Centre, only has a small retail space, but its closure represents the second big name to leave the town centre in less than a year.

Marks and Spencer, a few doors away in New Road, closed after more than 100 years of trading last September. The shop is still empty.

Gravesham council leader Cllr John Burden said any store leaving was concerning but it was part and parcel of the economic climate.

He said: “We want to keep them [brand names] here but traders will leave – it’s the nature of the market we’re in – but we hope another trader will come and take their place very quickly.

“We’ve seen some big people leave the town but businesses, like the pound shops, will take their place.”

The former Woolworths in King Street was replaced by Discount UK. That became a Bargain Buys in February, joining Poundland, Poundstretcher, 99p Stores, Wilkinson, Aldi and Lidl in the town.

However, not all empty units have been filled with cut-price stores. When Burton and Dorothy Perkins, at the junction of High Street and New Road, closed, it was replaced by a Costa Coffee, which has thrived since it opened in February 2014.

There are 52 vacant council-owned retail units in Gravesend, which represents 11% of all its stock. St George’s Shopping Centre has four empty units and the Thamesgate Shopping Centre opposite is full.

While some retailers could be concerned about the effect of losing such a big brand name from the high street, Thamesgate manager Neil Avis, said it was proven after M&S left that life goes on.

He said: “The loss of M&S didn’t have the impact that we thought it might.

“I expected footfall in town to drop because of the loss of their loyal customers, but it has been shown there wasn’t actually that many. Hopefully we’ll have a good store in there soon that will drive some interest into the town.”

Mothercare was not available for a comment when approached by the Messenger.