St Michael’s Hospice charity shop in Ross-on-Wye temporarily closes following neighbouring fire
St Michael’s Hospice has confirmed that its charity shop on Cantilupe Road, Ross-on-Wye is temporarily closed following a significant fire at a neighbouring business last Friday evening (24th April).
The fire, which began in the adjacent car MOT garage, caused substantial damage to that property and affected parts of the hospice charity shop’s adjoining building.
At the time of the incident, the shop was preparing to close for the day, with no customers inside the building. Two St Michael’s team members safely evacuated the building when the alarm was raised. No one in the shop was injured, and the team should be commended for their resilience in difficult circumstances.
Fire crews attended quickly and worked for several hours to bring the incident under control. Unfortunately, the shop has suffered significant smoke and water damage, plus structural concerns in parts of the building that are adjoining the garage. As a result, the shop will remain closed while further assessments and safety checks are carried out.
Rachel Jones, Income Generation, Marketing and Communications Director at St Michael’s Hospice, said: “We are incredibly relieved that our colleagues were able to leave the building safely. Our thoughts are with our neighbouring businesses who have also been affected by the fire.
“We are also extremely grateful to the fire service for their swift response, and to the local community for the many kind messages of support we’ve received over the past week.”
Due to the damage, trading at the Cantilupe Road shop has been suspended until further notice. Appropriate insurers and experts, will need to assess the full extent of the impact, including losses and repairs needed to the building, before next steps can be determined.
Supporters are encouraged to continue donating and shopping at the Hospice’s other retail outlets in Ross-on-Wye, and more widely across Herefordshire and beyond. In Ross-on-Wye, we would particularly encourage people to visit our shop on Gloucester Road, which thanks to the incredible efforts of the team, will now be open seven days a week, including Sundays. Opening times of all our shops can be found on the St Michael’s Hospice website.
We would also kindly ask those who would usually donate to the Cantilupe Road shop to take their items to our Home & Living shop on Alton Road, which continues to welcome donations (Tuesday to Saturday).
Our retail network currently contributes around two million per year to delivering hospice care for our patients and families. While this temporary closure is a concern, we are hugely grateful for the continued support we receive and hope people will continue to shop with and donate to our other stores during this time.