BOSSES at Next say that jobs at the Winchester store which will be closing this year could be saved.

As reported the store will be closing in June, as its lease runs out.

It comes after a plan to turn the top two floors of the building into luxury flats, which would involve some retail space being lost was approved in December – amid concerns about turning retail space into housing in Winchester.

It is understood that the plans would affect 15-full-time staff, but Next say that they will aim to ensure that their jobs won’t be affected by moving them to neighbouring stores.

A spokeswoman for Next said: “Our intention is and always has been with the jobs from the store to relocate staff into neighbouring stores so we will be offering this to all staff.”