Hardwood furniture retailer Oak Furnitureland has confirmed that it will close its Kettering store later this year.

The store at Kettering Retail Park on Carina Road will close in December after the landlord of the property served notice to vacate the building by 4 December.

Oak Furnitureland has operated at the site for the last six years and is now talking to its three employees to try and find them alternative roles ahead of the closure.

The closure is due to plans being submitted to North Northamptonshire Council by BBC Pension Trust Limited, which owns the retail park, to change the use of the unit to a pet care and treatment facility that also sells pets and pet food.

A tenant is understood to have already been agreed, although who remains unnamed.

The planning document states: “The application has been submitted to facilitate the re-letting of the premises to a new occupier that sells pets and pet-related goods including pet food and whose operation includes an integral pet care and treatment facility.

“The approval of the application will secure the long-term active use of the premises.”

The council is now reviewing the application with a decision expected to be made next month.