THE announcement that Hexham's Iceland store is set to close is 'concerning' for the town, the mayor has said.

The frozen goods supermarket will close its store on Fore Street on April 22, duty manager Lee Reay told the Courant.

The nearest Iceland stores for people in the town will now be at Consett and Blaydon.

Mr Reay said: "We had a meeting to let us know they're going to try and sort as many [job] transfers as possible, or failing that - obviously not everyone drives and things like that - people who don't want to transfer will be made redundant."

Mayor of Hexham Derek Kennedy said: "That store is a major outlet on Fore Street so this does come as a concern.

"My heart goes out to the staff because I know the nearest Iceland is in Consett which is some miles away and not easy for somebody who lives local to Hexham to get to so their jobs are really under pressure."

He added: "The last thing we want is an empty unit right in that main street. We don't want it to be left empty because it doesn't look good for the town and the other retail units which are next to it."

An Iceland spokeswoman said: "We continually review our Iceland Foods and The Food Warehouse store portfolio to ensure we’re delivering the best experiences for our customers across the country.

"We want to thank all that have chosen Iceland for their weekly shops and daily essentials over the years."

In September last year, the property's landlord submitted a planning application to Northumberland County Council seeking permission to subdivide the property into two retail units.

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A design and access statement submitted alongside the application said: "The property, currently occupied by Iceland, comprised at one time two separate buildings of different periods, one two-storied (17 Fore Street) and one three-storied (19 & 21 Fore Street).

"The overall floor area of the property is considered by the landlord’s letting agents to be quite large by today’s standards - particularly in consideration of the changing market demand for retail premises on the High Street due to the trend towards online shopping.

"Subsequently, whenever Iceland vacates the property, the landlord would like to convert the property back into two retail shops, as this would seem to give the best chance of finding new tenants for the available floor area."

It added: "The proposal is beneficial as the creation of two retail units from one, will increase the retail offer for shoppers in the town centre."

A decision has not yet been made by the council.

The Iceland store in Hexham was previously occupied by Woolworths, which shut up shop in 2009.