Asda Downpatrick store closed for ‘foreseeable future’ following recent flooding

It has been confirmed that the Asda Downpatrick store, which was significantly impacted by the recent flooding, will be closed for the foreseeable future.

Downpatrick was one of the towns and cities across Northern Ireland which was severely affected by the flooding following heavy rain at the end of October, with dozens of businesses on the town’s Market Street badly damaged.

As store owners and staff continue to come to terms with and assess the damage, Asda has revealed that its store in the town was especially badly affected, with structural damage to the building discovered in the days after.

In a statement to Neighbourhood Retailer, an Asda spokesperson said: “Following the severe floods which closed our Downpatrick store, a structural survey has revealed considerable damage to the building, which unfortunately means the store will be closed for the foreseeable future.”

However, they added that they were making concerted efforts to ensure that consumers are not abandoned with a series of services available and added they were working towards opening a temporary store soon.

“To continue serving our loyal customers, we are operating a click & collect service from our Portadown store and increasing the number of home delivery slots available in the local area. We are also running a bus service twice daily to our Portadown store starting this Thursday,” added the spokesperson.

“We are committed to Downpatrick and are aiming to open a temporary store in the next few weeks while we continue to explore all options for a permanent store.

“We will provide a further update on these plans once we have more information to share.”