THE Boots store in The Parade at Canterbury which has been trading for more than 70 years is closing down.

The decision comes after the opening a year ago of the new store in the Whitefriars development.

Boots decided to close its shop in Burgate at the time but said The Parade one would remain open.

The premises are owned by Boots but a spokesman would not comment on what would happen to it after the store’s closure at the end of September.

She said: "We can’t reveal when the decision was taken to close. But the Whitefriars’ branch is large enough to include all Boots’ services on one level, including the optician."

The spokesman added no jobs would be affected.

She explained: "All 37 staff will be given the option of transferring to either Whitefriars or Wincheap."

The closure of The Parade store will mean it and two other large shops in the city centre, the previous sites of Next and Ernest Jones, will all be empty.

There have been no new tenants confirmed as yet.