ANY move to close the York John Lewis store should not be a knee-jerk reaction to the past difficult year, says York Outer MP.

Julian Sturdy said he had contacted John Lewis about their site at Vangarde Shopping Park to try and work with the department chain after it announced plans to pull out of the city, putting more than 200 jobs at risk.

"While no brand has been immune to the challenges of the last year and the ongoing trend towards online retail, since opening in 2014 John Lewis has been a key anchor of the Vangarde Retail Park and has been warmly welcomed by local residents," he said.

"I have already been in touch with John Lewis about their York site and have a call scheduled for tomorrow where I will make sure that any decision is not being made as a knee jerk reaction to a most difficult pandemic year.

"Soon the Community Stadium will be welcoming thousands of York City FC and York City Knights fans to the retail park each week as well as hundreds of families visiting the cinema and other leisure offerings within the complex, meaning John Lewis will have an incredible pool of potential custom to add to their already loyal shopper base.

"Before the pandemic I had only heard good reports of the York outlet's performance compared to other John Lewis outlets and I will make the case that York still has a promising future as a home to a John Lewis store.

"In my discussions tomorrow, I will also ensure that John Lewis commit to effectively communicate with their staff, many of whom are my constituents, during this period of uncertainty and offer them the support expected from a responsible employer."

City of York Council's Conservative Group leader Paul Doughty added his concerns to the closure announcement.

"This is a big blow for York and I hope John Lewis will reconsider their decision, with York's store having a significant sphere of influence across North Yorkshire," he tweeted. "The store provides high quality jobs and is a great boost to the local economy in terms in particular of people coming from further afield to shop there and also nearby. I will work with Julian Sturdy MP to try and persuade John Lewis to change its mind."