A beauty and home store in Reading has announced its closure date.

Next Beauty & Home has occupied the old Debenhams department store in The Oracle shopping centre since December 2020.

Now Next has announced its closure date after around three years in the shopping centre.

A spokesperson for Next said: “We can confirm that our NEXT Beauty & Home store in Reading will cease trade on Saturday, August 12.”

The store has been identified as ‘at risk’ since last summer, when The Oracle shopping centre’s part owners Hammerson unveiled plans to transform the eastern portion of the centre in a redevelopment that would see 449 apartments being built. However, no closure date had been confirmed.

READ MORE: The Oracle store, cinema and restaurants put at risk by plan to transform centre

The latest announcement comes as Hammerson submitted plans this month to reduce the amount of department store space in The Oracle.

Hammerson’s planning agents Turley revealed that  Next Beauty & Home was due to vacate the former Debenhams unit by September this year.

Currently, floorspace for departments stores is preserved in a planning condition dating back to 1997 when plans for The Oracle were approved.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about planned changes to The Oracle in Reading

You can view the application to remove the condition preserving department store floorspace by typing reference 230682 into the council’s planning portal.

That is separate from the plan to add 449 flats to the centre, which involve the partial demolition of the former Debenhams unit so 202 apartments can be build.

You can view that plan by typing reference 221916 into the council’s planning portal.