RESIDENTS and former customers of Skipton's Wildwood restaurant have expressed shock and sorrow at its unexpected closure.

The pizza, pasta and grill restaurant, which had a shared access to Skipton Town Hall, and was one of a national chain, closed on Wednesday last week.

Contractors moved in on Thursday to empty the premises, and a sign appeared on the window stating: "Sorry, we have to say goodbye. We have taken the difficult decision to permanently close our doors. Thank you to all who have supported us over the years."

One former customer said she had received a message from the restaurant to say it was closing.

"I'm really shocked and surprised. It has been really busy, I've been there when they have had to turn people away," she said.

In a letter to the Craven Herald, Michael Robinson, of Hellifield, said it was the only restaurant in the town with wheelchair access.

He said: "I don't know whether this is as a result of greedy landlords, excessive utility costs, unreasonable business rates or all three, but something needs to be done now.

Skipton is slowly turning into a ghost town and our elected councillors and politicians need to resolve the underlying causes."

The PA News Agency reported on Tuesday last week that Tasty - the restaurant firm behind the Wildwood chain of more than 40 outlets, had announced it was closing around 20 loss making restaurants after a 'challenging' start to the year.

The restructuring plan would see the group shut 18 restaurants, with two sites already closed to customers, reported PA.

The restaurant was housed in the town hall complex, which is owned by North Yorkshire Council, and was part of the hall's multi-million pound re-development. It was believed to have signed a 25-year lease with the former Craven District Council.

When it opened towards the end of 2017, the Craven Herald reported that Tasty PLC had signed a 25 year lease with the former council, which was replaced by North Yorkshire Council as part of local government reorganisation in April last year.

It occupied three floors in the redeveloped town hall complex and was welcomed at the time as an additional draw to the town hall.

Its closure follows the closure earlier this year of two outlets in the nearby Albion Place development; Chevin Cycles and Dawsons Department store.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Council confirmed that Wildwood had been a tenant of the council's.