A FORMER Debenhams café worker fears for the future of Ayr Central shopping centre after the department store announces it will close for good.

Debenhams has enjoyed its premier place at the modern new shopping mall now in its 14th year.

The UK retail giant was the first shop to open in the new £75million centre on Kyle Street which was said to make Ayr the fifth strongest shopping destination in Scotland.

But now the future looks bleak with Debenhams announcing they will enter liquidation just weeks after H&M directly across from it closed its doors and Topshop part of the Arcadia group is plunged into administration.

Administrators at Debenhams announced the devastating news on Tuesday, December 1 on what would normally be the build up to the busiest period of the year.

A deal from JD Sports to rescue the chain fell through as Debenhams confirmed they have started winding operations while continuing to seek offers “for all or parts of the business”.

Cameron McCririe 22, was one of the staff made redundant as Debenhams removed their popular restaurant to cut costs during the spring coronavirus lockdown.

Now he works in Simply Good Coffee – a company who took on the mantle to open inside the store in place of the closed restaurant – whilst giving staff devastated by redundancies a chance to work again.

Cameron said: “If Debenhams, H&M and Topshop all go there won’t be much left. Ayr Central is dying. For shops that remain they have hardly had any trade for a couple of months and now just before Christmas they announce more closures.

“It’s not looking good for Ayr Central, especially with it being a new shopping centre in Ayr. The worry as well is if all the big shops shut down then what will happen to the all the small ones?”

Debenhams will reopen to clear stock until the store will close for good. The store along with many Ayr Central shops classed as ‘non-essential’ remain closed until at least December 11 as part of tight coronavirus restrictions across South Ayrshire.

An Ayr mum captured a haunting picture of the Ayr Central car park last week.

Nicola Brown said: “I was shocked when I saw it was very eerie. It’s normally so busy this time of year and it’s a look at our future at this rate.”