Pets at Home has announced it will no longer open a store at a new retail park in Skegness, despite recruiting and training staff.

Yesterday, the store said it would be opening at the end of this month.

But in a sudden change of events, it has now announced this morning, Wednesday, May 9, that it will no longer be opening.

People had applied, been offered jobs and had training before being told they were no longer needed at the store.

There are Pets at Home stickers in the window of the empty store in Quora Retail Park in Burgh Road, and signage has been placed on the main sign as you enter the car park.

Several confused people took to Facebook to ask the pet chain what was happening.

A spokesperson responded to say: “Just to keep you in the loop, at a recent review of our store opening plans we decided, with regret, not to progress with our plan to open a store in Skegness.

“We keep our opening plans under regular review as store openings can take some time to come to fruition and both the retail environment and the property market can be volatile.

“We appreciate that this will be disappointing to customers who were looking forward to a new store and apologise for the change in our plans.

“All colleagues recruited to work in Skegness will continue their training with us before taking up alternative positions in one of our nearby stores.

“Again, my apologies for the change of plans & for the disappointment this will cause. Please let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.”

Just hours earlier, a member of staff called Debi replied to a comment on Facebook to say that the shop was still due to open at the end of the month.

One person then said in response to that post: "If the store is still opening, can you please explain why my wife, who had had a job offer, had that offer withdrawn on Friday due to the store not opening?"

In January, the pet chain advertised for a deputy manager to start 'ASAP'.

There is now an empty building within the new retail park, so what will the future bring?

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