A U-TURN that will see House of Fraser stay open has given Swindon's beleaguered town centre a rare boost.

The Adver revealed at the weekend that the department store in Canal Walk wouldn't be shutting its doors after all, following an 11th hour deal with Brunel Shopping Centre bosses.

All 58 jobs at the store were saved as a result.

Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member for the town centre Dale Heenan said: “The House of Fraser U-turn is welcome news for staff and shoppers.

“It represents an important site in the town centre and this is an example of FI Real Estate Management (FIREM), the owners of the Brunel, trying to find ways to keep business open.”

But Coun Heenan isn’t expecting a similar outcome with Sainsbury’s, which is expected to shut in November.

He added: “Sainsbury’s have made it clear that they are following a national strategy to focus on their larger stores like Bridgemead and Stratton and so are closing smaller stores.

“I hope FIREM can attract a difference supermarket to replace Sainsbury’s and that they will reveal their plans soon for how the Brunel will evolve, improve and respond to the changes happening in the high street because of online shopping and Covid.”

Some shoppers who commented on the Adver's Facebook page were happy with the news, while others are unsure about how long it would last.

Darren Attridge said: “Great news for the staff, and I got my clothes all half price last week.”

And Kelly Diplacito-Large added: “Great that people have had jobs saved at this hard time.”

But this isn’t the first time House of Fraser – owned by Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley – has backtracked on plans to leave Swindon.

The store was due to close in November 2018 under plans announced two months earlier but instead remained open.

Readers were quick to point this out – with some wondering how long this stay of execution will last.

Monica Lawson said: “Again? How long for this time?”

With Jonny Murphy adding: “This happened the exact same time last year.

“Closing, big sale, then last minute saved.

“Is this to be an annual marketing ploy by House of Fraser?”

Despite the store being saved, Coun Heenan believes the town centre still needs to shrink by 25 per cent given the challenges it faces.

He said: “People should be under no illusions about how difficult things are for retailers.”