ANOTHER town centre shop is to close in Huddersfield.

Travel giant Thomas Cook is to axe its New Street store with the loss of nine jobs as part of plans to close 200 travel shops nationwide.

The company has launched a 90-day consultation with affected staff after deciding to close the store because its lease is set to expire.

The move does not affect the High Street branch of Thomas Cook, which will continue to trade normally.

But it will mean another empty unit on a street in the heart of the town centre – coming just 24 hours after shopping guru Mary Portas called for urgent work to revitalise the High Street.

The 170-year-old travel group, which came close to collapse last month, racked up losses of almost £400m.

It came after a year in which the slump in consumer confidence and the Arab Spring wrecked demand for its package holidays.

The closure plans follow Thomas Cook’s recent merger with the Co-op’s high street travel business.

The company, which has 1,300 shops, confirmed that 661 staff in 115 stores were being told yesterday and today that their branch could close.

Ian Ailles, chief executive of Thomas Cook UK Mainstream, said: “We’ve undertaken a comprehensive review of our retail network and the proposals will ensure that as the UK’s leading high street travel retailer we have the right stores in the right places for our customers.

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