A LONG-STANDING independent hardware store is set to close, sparking dismay from residents who say a high street is losing its character.

Shopkeeper Jatin Patel said he was sad as “closing down” boards were put up this week in the windows of the R&N Hardware store which has been in Holloway Road for about 40 years.

The father-of-two blamed rising business rates and rents and the opening of a brand new B&Q a stones-throw away in 2017 for making it impossible to make a living from the shop.

Mr Patel, who works seven days a week at the shop he took on about a decade ago, said: “My feeling is sad, seriously. But still I am looking to the future, once I get out from here I am relaxed.

“On this road, there is a whole line of shops that are closed. Eight to 10 shops. Pet shop, café, off-licence, newsagent and even the butcher is closed.”

All items are being sold at half price.

Mr Patel added: “When B&Q opened, business went like 50 per cent down. Rates have increased every year for the last five to six years, this year they reduced a little but it is already too high.”

Local walking tour guide Jane Parker, who has shopped in R&N since she moved to Holloway 30 years ago, said everyone she had spoken to was “horrified” by the news.

She added: “Holloway Road is being killed by big brand shops and the internet. Soon we will have identikit high streets across London with the same shops in a different configuration.”

Hannah Kempton, who lives a few streets down, said: “It’s a real shame. The correlation between B&Q opening and this shop now closing is not a coincidence.

“We want to support independent businesses but there’s only so much we can do when bigger companies slide into the high street.”