National charity Scope explains reason for Worthing shop closure during consultation process

The national charity is currently holding a consultation on proposals to close most of its shops.

Worthing was not part of that process, the charity said. The shop was closed as it was nearing the end of the lease.

A sign in the window announced the closure on Saturday, February 7, and this was then replaced with a sign saying 'thank you for your support over the years'.

The Scope charity shop in Connaught Buildings, Chapel Road, Worthing, gave disabled people the opportunity to gain valuable work experience and helped the charity to raise money to fund its work with disabled people and their families.

Volunteers in the shop were able to boost their skills and confidence through helping customers, working on the till, window dressing and displays, sorting donations and steaming. The charity also offered National Vocational Qualifications.

Mark Hodgkinson, chief executive at disability equality charity Scope, said: "We were very sad to close our charity shop in Worthing. We have had such incredible support from this wonderful and generous community.

"We never take the decision to close our stores lightly, recognising the impact it has on both our store teams, volunteers and our customers, so it was a very hard decision and not one we took lightly.

"Our shop manager and two assistant managers are supporting other Scope shops locally. I am also pleased to say that several of our valued volunteers have found new opportunities in the local area and others are in the process of looking for other charities to support.

"The retail landscape has changed over the last few years, and that has placed enormous pressure on stores trading on high streets across the UK.

"While providing a valuable service to the local community, our shops role is to raise vital funds so the charity can continue to provide vital support services for the country’s 16 million disabled people and their families."

The Chapel Road shop was open every day and sold quality new and secondhand clothes, books, accessories, homeware, bric-a-brac CDs, DVDs, games, musical instruments, jewellery, sports equipment and collectibles.

Worthing District Scope was a separate charity, established in the 1960s to support children and adults with a disability, especially those with cerebral palsy, and their families. Guild Care started managing it in March 2017 and the charity officially joined the Guild Care group on March 31, 2018.

Scope has forecast that its retail operations could make a loss of £1.5million this financial year and as a result, the charity wants to close 77 of its 138 shops around the UK.

The consultation proposes three phases of timings for the less, or non-profitable shop closures. The charity has confirmed the Littlehampton shop is not part of the consultation process.

The first phase of 41 shops could close by March 31, 2025. These are shops where the lease end falls after March 31, 2026. Mr Hodgkinson said this was to reduce support costs and improve profitability as soon as possible.

There are 31 shops where the leases end within the 2025/26 financial year. This means they fall between April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026. Mr Hodgkinson said the charity proposes to close these shops on their lease end or break as phase two of closures.

The third and final phase would be for broader operational reasons. Mr Hodgkinson said the proposal is to close these five shops on lease end or break.

Mr Hodgkinson explained: "Scope has been campaigning for disability equality for over 70 years. Our shops have helped us raise vital income to support our work with disabled people and their families.

"But, the high street has had growing trading challenges which we want to now firmly recognise and address. Despite our teams' best efforts our shops are collectively now losing money when taking account of all of their costs. A number make strong profits but there are loss-making shops, too.

"This situation isn’t confined to Scope. All retailers have been hit with a greater shift to on-line shopping. And we are facing rising rents, soaring energy costs, increased staff costs, and the cost of living squeezing customers. 

"As a result, and to ensure our funds are best focused upon our charitable purpose, we have let our teams know that we will be putting forward proposals to close some of our shops, in stages, over the next 18 months. 

"This is not a set of proposals that we have put forward lightly. But our shops are collectively not as profitable as they once were, and we must make changes to the way we operate by focusing upon those that are.

"We recognise that for many colleagues and volunteers, Scope is more than just a job. They feel passionately about playing their part in our work creating an equal future with disabled people. We will be doing everything we can to support those affected, and these proposals aren't a reflection on our hard-working shop teams and volunteers.

"Scope continues to have a presence on the high street in the future. We will run shops that make a profit, support our infrastructure costs and contribute towards our mission.

"We need to make sure we have the right sized retail estate that is able to withstand future cost increases.

"We have to make this difficult decision, to make sure the money we raise goes to support disabled people and their families and makes the biggest difference.

"We’ll also be reaching people in communities through our Community Hubs and local engagement programmes. And our shops will continue to be a place where we directly engage with the public, where they can find out about Scope’s work and join our movement for change.”

Because this is a consultation and Scope is dealing with proposals, here are the shops that are in the first phase, meaning they are proposed to close by March 31, 2025: Amersham, Bangor, Barking, Beckenham, Bexhill, Bishop Auckland, Bridgwater, Castleford, Christchurch, Camborne, Devizes, Dewsbury, Eastbourne, Ely, Gillingham HS, Halstead, Haywards Heath, Hertford, Hinckley, Kendal, Lewisham, Llandudno, March, Mitcham, Morley, New Milton, Nuneaton, Oadby, Orpington, Parkstone, Petersfield, Pwllheli, Rochdale, Scarborough, Scunthorpe, Shirley (Birmingham), Shirley (Southampton), Skipton, Stourbridge, Wednesbury and Welling.