The failure of our Mayor and local MP to persuade John Lewis not to close its Watford store (John Lewis still set on closing store in Watford, Watford Observer, July 31) was completely predictable. It was a case of too little too late. The failure of our Mayor and MP to act in a timely fashion is evidenced by the fact that it was known back in February that John Lewis was planning store closures. They have been asleep at the wheel.

The loss of John Lewis after its 140-year connection with Watford is a massive loss to local people and a major blow to the economy of our town.

The retail sector has been in decline for many years with the growth of online shopping. John Lewis’s profits dropped from over £300 million four years ago to just £40 million last year.

This is not a case of hindsight being a perfect science; the writing had been on the wall for many years for the retail sector. The signs were ignored.

The scale of the disaster facing Watford’s position as a regional shopping centre has yet to be felt. The loss of Debenhams was bad enough but the loss of John Lewis is catastrophic.

The space occupied by John Lewis was designed for them as an original partner in the development of the then Harlequin Centre. It’s difficult to imagine any other store moving in as the era of the department store is apparently over.

The footfall in the centre is likely to drop heavily leading other stores to consider their future and this will be a disincentive for new stores arriving.

The administrators of CapCo are going to find it difficult to find a buyer for our shopping centre and the prospect of it closing completely remains a real threat.

There was an absence of a viable long term strategy for the intu centre and the lack of early intervention once the threat of closure was known.

It is a major failure that has to be laid at the door of our Mayor and the Liberal Democrat Council. The buck stops at the town hall.

Mike Jackson

Kingsfield Road, Watford