Boots in the Howard Centre will not be closing, but its store will shut one hour earlier on Saturdays.

After Marks & Spencer and Next announced they would be leaving the Howard Centre, rumours about the fate of other stores in the Welwyn Garden City shopping centre have multiplied - including the future of pharmacy and beauty chain Boots.

READ MORE: Shoppers predict ‘demise’ of Welwyn Garden City town centre after store closures announced

A spokesperson from Boots said: "Following a recent review, we are proposing making a small adjustment to our opening times at our Welwyn Garden City Howard Centre store by closing one hour earlier on Saturday when there is low demand. Other opening times remain unaffected.

“At Boots, we aim to serve our patients however and wherever they need us, both in stores and online. The impact of these changes to pharmacy team roles will be minimal, though it is too early to confirm anything specific."

Click here to view WGC's Boots opening times.

Next shut its doors on Saturday, January 15 and M&S will close in April 2022.

M&S regional manager Jon Statham explained: “Shopping habits are changing, so we’re rotating our store estate to make sure we have the right stores to offer our customers a brilliant shopping experience.

"We appreciate that this will be disappointing news for some and we would like to thank all our customers who have shopped with us in the store.

“We will be working hard to keep serving them in our many stores in the wider local area which offer a wide range of food, clothing and home products, including St Albans, London Colney and our upcoming new store in Stevenage which will open later this spring.”

Next were unable to "disclose any more information" about why it was leaving the Howard Centre.