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The Neighbourhood Furniture Store, in Sittingbourne, to close with pandemic cited as reason
19:39, 01 September 2020
updated: 19:59, 01 September 2020
A charity furniture shop which has run for 15 years will soon close, with the pandemic described as the last nail in the coffin.
The Neighbourhood Furniture Store, in Trinity Trading Estate, Sittingbourne , will shut at the end of the month, after running at a loss for the last few years.
The store is a not-for-profit project supplying used furniture for people on low incomes throughout the Swale, Medway and Maidstone boroughs.
In a Facebook post, manager Everlyn Saunders said: "Thank you to our customers for buying our furniture and to people who've generously donated items.
"This is very sad for the staff at the store who've worked so hard to deliver such an amazing service to the local community."
"We've tried to balance the increasing costs of running the project and keeping the prices affordable, this has resulted in us running at a loss the last few years and with the impact that Covid-19 has had on the running of the store, there is no way we can balance losses."
The store is managed by charity Fresh Visions People Limited and there were hopes of transferring the project to another charity.
However, the "huge financial pressure on charities due to Covid-19" meant a transfer fell through in the last minute.
Ms Saunders went on: "I have worked here 14 years and know many of you have supported us.
"It's especially sad for me as I will be saying goodbye to a project that means so much to me as has done so much for the community over the years."
The store will continue to run from 8.30am to 3pm Monday to Thursday while stocks last.
Fresh Visions People Limited, which supports people facing poverty, domestic abuse and social exclusion, will continue to run.
