M&Co closure leads Loughton woman to fear end of high street

Helene Goldstein of Alders Road said the upcoming closure of clothes shop M&Co in High Road will leave her unable to buy clothes close to her home.

Mrs Goldstein, 77, said that when this shop closes it will be one of the last remaining shops for her age group on the high street.   

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She said: “I often go into Loughton high street for shopping or lunch out.

“M&Co is one of the only shops people of my age range can really buy clothes.

“Most other clothes shops are for youngsters.

“But it’s not just the closure that is the problem. It’s because every shop that closes seems to turn into a coffee shop or a bar.

“In the near future we will not have any clothes shops in the high street. It’s all going to be food.”

M&Co will close on August 20. Picture: Google Street View

She added: “It’s just what you see on the news about high streets closing down.

“This is one of the reasons that it’s happening everywhere - it’s going to be food places.

“From what I can understand M&Co is going to be a bar.

“If that’s what it’s going to become there is nowhere for people like me to go an enjoy to look around.

“Where Café Rouge was that’s now a nightclub with bouncers outside.”

Mrs Goldstein said the closure of M&Co and the lack of other clothes shops on High Road means she will have to use her car to go shopping instead of being able to walk.

She said: “I live a 10-minute walk to the high street.

“For me to go clothes shopping now, I will have to use my car and drive to Westfields, which is about half an hour away or Brent Cross, which is a 45-minute drive.”

She warned: “Shops are closing and are not being replaced with similar ones.

“In a few years’ time you will only be able to go into a high street for a coffee or a meal.”

M&Co will be closing its Loughton store on August 20.