A petition to save Waitrose in Huntingdon from closure has been backed by more than 700 people, who are all calling for talks to begin with the shop’s landlords.

An announcement was made earlier this month that the high-end chain was proposing to close the store, in St Benedict’s Court, in September.

In a fight to save the supermarket, Huntingdonshire District Council member Councillor Ste Greenall has launched an online petition.

“With a store of that size that has been here for 40 years there’s an awful lot of people that rely on it,” Cllr Greenall said.

“There are individuals that work there who have seen so many disappointed people upset by the news.

“So let’s keep our Waitrose open, it was the first decent sized supermarket in the town and it would be a major blow for it to close.”

The aim of petition is to urge John Lewis bosses, which owns Waitrose, to meet with landlords to work on an agreement to keep the store open.

Cllr Greenall added: “What I would like to get is the landlords together with John Lewis, surely it is better to have someone in the store paying a lower rent rather than it stand empty.”

The news of the supermarket’s closure is the latest in the line of stores that have chosen to leave the town including Mothercare and the Parsley Pot, formerly of High Street.

“Over the years a number of shops have been lost and nothing has been done but I wanted to do something about Waitrose.

“The whole nature of the high street is changing but it still requires some high-end branded names, so if we can attract Pandora and other companies to Chequers Court then let’s hang onto the stores that we do have.”

Since launching the petition late Sunday night hundreds of people have pledged their support.

“There’s a strong brand loyalty to the John Lewis Partnership which is why I think so many people have signed the petition,” said Cllr Greenall.

It has also been given the backing of supporters from as far away as South Wales and Hampshire.

To sign the petition go to: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-huntingdon-waitrose.