Crossgates shoppers reflect on the closure of Wilko, from what they used to buy there to what they would like to see open in the East Leeds shopping centre.
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00:00 As I say, about 25, 26 years have been coming to Wilco's,
00:05 and it's generally the sold,
00:07 almost everything you could think of
00:08 apart from furniture, obviously.
00:11 But it's great atmosphere, great staff willing to help you,
00:14 and it's a sad day.
00:16 Now it's closed, and it would be lovely
00:19 to see a supermarket instead of having to go
00:23 sort of half a mile, a mile away.
00:25 - I'm upset it's closing,
00:27 'cause I do get bits and bats from there.
00:30 Mainly things to pick up for cleaning, gardening.
00:32 It's got everything in.
00:35 And really, I feel sorry for the people who work there.
00:39 I mean, like, they've been there, I don't know how long,
00:43 but I like it, and I pick anything I want,
00:46 I always go to Wilco's.
00:48 But why it's gonna come, I just do not know.
00:52 You hear people talking about this,
00:54 but personally, I'd rather keep it as Wilco's.
00:58 - I started going to the store about 10 years ago
01:02 when we first moved to Crossgates,
01:04 and I found it very convenient to buy decorating stuff.
01:09 We were putting new, painting a new house,
01:12 so it was all the bits and bobs around that.
01:14 Light bulbs, funnily enough, it was always great for that.
01:17 Batteries, I used it for that.
01:19 It's just sad for the people who work there,
01:21 and clearly it's sad for the community,
01:22 because it's quite a big shop for the shopping center
01:24 to be honest, and to lose that as a shop is very sad.
01:29 I'd like to see a similar sort of shop come in there,
01:33 like a small Dunell Mills or small range
01:36 that's got all those general household things,
01:39 gardening items that I buy.
01:42 And I probably went in there about four or five times a year.
01:45 I wasn't a regular,
01:47 but it was just convenient to know it was there.