A POPULAR town centre bar will shut down next week.

Staff at Harvey's Café Bar have been told that the venue will cease trading on Tuesday and that they will be made redundant.

It is understood that the closure has been blamed on a downturn in business over recent months, partly because Harvey's has lost a number of customers and staff to the bars and restaurants in The Vaults at the Market Place Shopping Centre.

The bar, which first opened in 1996 as Henry's, employs approximately 10 staff who have been left 'in shock' after being informed of the impending closure.

Cllr Martin Donaghy, chairman of Bolton Council's licensing committee and a patron of Harvey's, said: "I am shocked to hear that Harvey's is closing. It is a popular venue in the town centre.

"I am most concerned for the staff who are losing their jobs and I hope it will not be too long before it will reopen.

"I hope that the existing staff will be re-engaged as part of any future venture."

One member of staff, who asked not to be named, said: "We have not really been given much reason for the closure, other than saying that we are not doing enough business.

"I know that a lot of custom has gone to The Vaults since it opened, but I haven't seen a huge drop in our business.

"People are just in shock at the moment. This has come completely out of the blue for us."

One of the bar's current staff is thought to have worked at the Mawdsley Street venue for 17 years.

Live From Worktown’s Dave Morgan, who organises a jazz night at the bar on Sundays, said: "We have got one show this Sunday and are due to have two more in November.

"I know that some of the Harvey's staff have left to work in The Vaults and you can see that the bar has not been done up for a few years.

"The competition in that market has obviously shifted in Bolton recently.

"I do hope that it can reopen in the future, it would be a real shame for it to close."

A total of six former Harvey's staff are understood to have left for new jobs in The Vaults, which opened in March last year and has recently expanded with the addition of The Cave bar.

An ex-Harvey's employee, who asked not to be named, said: "It is really sad to hear that it is closing. I know that there are a lot of regular Harvey's customers who are still loyal to it, even if they also go to The Vaults now, and I didn't think it would close yet."

Nikki Wilson-Cook, centre manager of the Market Place, said it was a 'real shame' that Harvey's was closing.

The bar's current leaseholder, Carl Davis, declined to comment.