ICONIC Selby furniture store Everatts is closing down after 75 years.

James Everatt, owner of the Gowthorpe store, said the business would close in September after declining sales in the last three years. With no prospect of an upturn in the next few years, he had reluctantly concluded closure was the only option.

He paid tribute to his seven “fine” staff who had worked hard to help the business over a difficult period.

He said he deeply regretted having to make them redundant. He thanked his loyal customers and said he was proud the principles of low prices and fair trading started by his father, George, had been maintained.

Mr Everatt said the recession was the main reason for the downturn in the company’s fortunes, but the “frequent disruptions” to trade in the town, particularly the six month closure of Gowthorpe in 2009, had put a severe strain on the company’s finances.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty said Everatts was an “iconic” Selby business.

He said: “I, along with many others, will be very sad to lose Everatts. The day they shut their doors will be a sad one.”

Mr Adams said publicly that the timing of roadworks in 2009, when the country was in recession, was “badly thought out” and other disruptions, such as the banning of advertisement boards from the pavement by North Yorkshire County Council on health and safety grounds had also affected business.

Richard Schofield, town centre spokesperson for Selby Chamber of Trade, said it would leave a “massive gap” on the high street, with the former Kwik Save also remaining empty.

Mark Crane, leader of Selby District Council, said: “I’m very sorry to hear they’re closing. It’s a long established Selby firm which has been successful for a number of years.

James’s father Geoffrey Everatt opened Everatts in Brook Street in 1936 after working for his father selling second-hand furniture in Wide Street.

In 1957, the business moved into a purpose-built store on Gowthorpe and James joined the business in 1972, running it with his father until Mr Everatt senior retired in 1980.