It’s shaping up to be another bruising month for the retail sector after major high street brands announced a wave of closures for shops in March.

       From DIY chain Homebase to iconic brand WHSmiths as well as Greggs and Select, the landscape of British brick and mortar stores is set to shift again as we enter spring. The British Retail Consortium has sounded the alarm over what it says are ￡5billion in extra costs hitting shops in 2025, with the increase in employer National Insurance contributions forecast to cost 160,000 jobs between now and the end of 2026.

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       Here is the full list of high street stores closing in March confirmed so far:

       Merthyr Tydfil - March

       Wellingborough - March 15

       Southshields - TBC

       Peterlee - TBC

       Thornaby - TBC

       Hartlepool - TBC

       Scarborough - TBC

       Hull Hessle - TBC

       Hull St Stephens - TBC

       Ashington - TBC

       Scunthorpe - TBC

       Chippenham - TBC

       The full list of stores which are set to close are:

       Leeds Moor Allerton - closed March 1, unit to be taken over by Wickes

       WHSmith is reported to be searching for a buyer for 500 high street stores in a move which could see it vanish from streets altogether as the 230 year old brand focuses on money spinning airports and train stations. Accrington in Lancashire is also set to shut on March 15, while Essex, West Midlands, Newport and Suffolk will see closures too.

       Greggs is closing its Cambridge store on March 31, but it plans to open more branches elsewhere, with 2,500 currently trading across the UJK.

       Trespass will shut its Highcross Shopping Centre branch on March 31.

       The BRC said in its latest release on the impact of the Budget on Friday: "Parliamentarians have been raising the impact of last year's Budget on retailers at debates and through written questions this week.

       "With the industry facing ￡5 billion in new costs from the Budget this year - plus a further ￡2 billion from the new packaging levy, Extended Producer Responsibility - we've been speaking to and briefing MPs and Peers from all parties to explain how the significant cost burden will curtail retail investment, damage the industry's ability to offer crucial part-time jobs and place inflationary pressure on prices."

       Conservative MP Andrew Griffith said in the Commons: "Business is not an abstraction; it is our pubs, our cafés, our restaurants and bars, our clothes shops and our newsagents.

       "They are very real, and they are in very real danger. For many of them, the choices the Government have made will be terminal. The British Retail Consortium, the British Chambers of Commerce, UKHospitality, the Federation of Small Businesses and Family Business UK are all ringing the alarm bells, but this Government are not listening, and we have heard that across this House, including from the other parties here today."