The council were not told John Lewis decided to close their Basingstoke store, its leader has said.

Cllr Ken Rhatigan was unaware of the chain's decision to permanently close their store, at Eastrop roundabout, putting 93 jobs at risk.

It comes after he said that Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council were in 'crisis' talks with the firm to change their mind.

John Lewis announced in March it was earmarking the store for closure, and the company confirmed to The Gazette today (Monday) that the store would remain permanently closed.

But when this newspaper called Cllr Rhatigan this morning to get his reaction to the news, he said that the first he heard of the decision was The Gazette's story and had not been contacted by the firm.

He said: "It is a great pity that the borough council have tried to be in contact with them and they didn't bother to tell us at the same time [as breaking the news publicly].

"I have asked for my team to investigate but because we have no confirmation and no direct contact today I can't say anything.

"It would be remissed for those partners that could lose their employment."

Cllr Rhatigan (CON; Tadley North, Kingsclere and Baughurst) has been hopeful that the firm would change its mind, previously telling The Gazette that his administration had held crisis talks and heard "encouraging" noises from them in terms of staying.

He said in April: “We’ve held a meeting with John Lewis and outlined some of the reasons we felt their decision [to close their Basingstoke branch] was made without the facts.

"We will be presenting them with new information on why we believe they should stay, taking into account new investment and housing in the area, the overall population, and what’s happening in Basing View in terms of the redevelopment of Grosvenor House [and how this could benefit them]. We think Basingstoke has something positive to offer them.”

Cllr Rhatigan said at the time that the council had a “strong case” to put forward to the retailer.

He added: “The magic wand solution here would be for John Lewis to understand that they will make a profit from the rest of the building and either stay put or come up with a way of filling the rest of the building, either through an extended Waitrose or their John Lewis At Home option.”

However, the decision to permanently close the Basingstoke store was announced to the press and public on Monday morning.