THE leader of Oldham Council has expressed his sadness at the closure of Debenhams, describing it as the “worst case scenario.”

The retail outlet, which has a branch in the Spindles shopping centre, announced it was to close this week resulting in its 124 outlets shutting down and 12,000 people losing their job.

It had been in administration since June and hopes of a rescue ended badly with the last remaining bidder withdrawing.

Cllr Sean Fielding, who also serves as a cabinet member for the economy and skills, said it was tough for people to face job losses in the run up to Christmas.

He said: “It’s terrible to hear that Debenhams is at risk of closing.

“Since the store opened it has played an important part in our retail and visitor offer.

“The worst bit though is residents’ could lose their jobs in the run up to Christmas.

"I feel for all of them and their families.

“I’d urge all the affected staff to contact our Get Oldham Working team as they are ready to support residents as much as they can.

“Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and several lockdowns, the retail and hospitality sectors across the country have been hit the hardest.”

He revealed that he would be looking to see what could be done with the sprawling store site in Oldham.

He said: “We were aware of the risks surrounding Debenhams when we purchased Spindles Shopping Centre and we planned for a worst case scenario.

“As owners of the shopping centre we are committed to working with all our tenants and we’ll be monitoring the situation closely over the coming days, supporting the business and its staff however possible.

“Hopefully someone will come in to keep Debenhams afloat, but if they have to close we’ll take the opportunity to look at new leisure or retail uses for a great space right in the heart of town.”

Debenhams had existed for more than 240 years but since May this year it had made more than 6,000 job losses in an effort to stay afloat.

In the aftermath of the announcement more than one million people headed to its website to buy items at up to 70 per cent off in the clear out sale.

The closure of the store capped a terrible year for the high street after Topshop owner Arcadia went into administration with 13,000 jobs being put at risk and several other high-profile crashes.