Farncombe Street Boots Store
Members of Godalming Town Council brought forward a motion at its Environment & Planning Committee meeting held on the 10 August to express its concern on the potential closure of the Farncombe Street Boots pharmacy.
Godalming Town Council is aware that although Boots, alongside its US owner Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), released Q3 results demonstrating a 13% growth in retail sales, and an increase in the company’s market share for the ninth consecutive quarter, it also announced in June that it plans to shut 300 UK stores over the next 12 months. Concern has been raised that the Farncombe Street branch of Boots is one of those stores at risk of closure.
Godalming Town Council believes that not only is Boots the Chemist at Station Place, Farncombe Street, vitally important for residents as a community pharmacy, but is also essential to the economic wellbeing of the Farncombe retail centre, and calls upon Boots UK and WBA to ensure that this store remains at the centre of the Farncombe community.
Members resolved to agree this motion and authorised the Town Clerk to write to Sebastian James, President and Managing Director of Boots UK & ROI, Boots UK Ltd, Nottingham, NG2 3AA to highlight the concern of the Town Council and the residents of Farncombe and Binscombe that the closure of this store would have (letter attached). In addition, the letter outlines the importance of the Farncombe branch of Boots the Chemist to the community and requesting this branch be excluded from Boots UK consideration for store closures.
In light of the Prime Minister’s stated support for community pharmacy, Members also agreed the Council write to central Government regarding the loss of the Godalming Sainsbury’s pharmacy and the potential loss of the Farncombe Boots pharmacy and request that the Government resolves to support the pharmacy network as part of its health strategy.