THE closure of the upmarket shoe shop Russell & Bromley is a “big loss” for Bournemouth’s Westover Road, a councillor has said.

The retailer, whose fans include Theresa May, closed its local branch on Saturday.

It is the latest of blow for the road which has long been dubbed “Bournemouth’s Bond Street”.

The tailor Austin Reed closed after going into administration in 2016, while the Odeon and ABC cinema buildings are still standing empty after closing in early 2017.

Russell & Bromley had been in Westover Road since the late 1960s.

The company told the Daily Echo: “We would like to assure you that our decision to close the branch was not take lightly but we have seen a decrease in it turnover for some time now and despite our best efforts, we simply could not keep the branch open.”

It said it could not say what would happen to the staff.

Town centre councillor Bob Chapman said he was troubled by the closure.

“It concerns me and most of us on the council,” he said.

“Westover Road is looking very tired. Russell & Bromley is quite a big loss for us

“We still have some very good shops there but there are agents who are trying to market three shops at the town end of Westover Road.

“They’ve stood empty for months. Presumably that’s because too high a rent is being asked and I wish the agents would get together with the landlords and let us have some more traders in the street.

“Retailers are struggling throughout the country but the establishment of Castlepoint hasn’t helped the town centre in Bournemouth,” he added.

Cllr Chapman said he opposed recent rises in town centre car park charges, but he did not think they were a crucial factor in the upmarket area of Westover Road.

The prime minister has long been a fan of Russell & Bromley shoes and was given a discount card for the store last year.

In 2002, when she was Conservative Party chairman, she wore a pair of the brand’s shoes to deliver her famous speech in Bournemouth about how the Tories were seen as the “nasty party”. Her leopard-print footwear attracted as much comment as the speech.