Joules is closing its store in Ipswich town centre on Saturday - just months after the chain was rescued by retail giant Next.

The store in the Butter Market street has notices in the window saying that its last day of trading would be on January 28 and urging customers to travel to its stores at Woodbridge or Bury St Edmunds instead.

Ipswich Star: The notice on the Ipswich Joules store.The notice on the Ipswich Joules store. (Image: Paul Geater)

Joules collapsed into administration at the end of last year - but at the beginning of December Next stepped in with a rescue deal.

That saw 10 stores - including that in Southwold - close. But at the time others were kept open to see how trading was going.

Now the closure notices have appeared in the window of the Ipswich store which is another blow for that part of the town centre.

The Butter Market street has become something of a wasteland over recent years.

The former BHS has been closed since 2016 and despite being bought by Sports Direct owners Fraser Group there is little sign of it reopening.

The Ancient House, the Edinburgh Woollen Mill, and Patisserie Valerie have all closed their doors since the pandemic lockdowns and the whole - as have some other smaller shops in the street.

There are few signs of any of these stores reopening.

The Ancient House is owned by Ipswich Council and there has been some interest in what is one of the best-known buildings in the town but no new use for it has yet been agreed.

It will temporarily replace the shop's current site at Foxhall Recycling Centre.

The shop will sell furniture, sports equipment, kitchen supplies, books and toys collected at the 11 recycling centres across Suffolk, with proceeds going to a youth charity.