Reaction to Karma’s closure has been mixed in the business community, with some traders celebrating while others say it is the final death knell for Chippenham town centre.

Taxi driver Adam Newport, of E and A Taxis, has worked in the town for four years and said the news could be disastrous for Chippenham, particularly as the nearby nightclub Jax has been forced to close for an estimated four months because of licencing problems.

Mr Newport said: “I’m really shocked in one way, especially with Jax closing and Christmas around the corner. It is going to hit all of the taxi drivers hard.

“The weekend just gone, with both Karma and Jax closed, we had a pretty busy time with jobs out of town, so we didn’t notice it, but that won’t always be the case.

“There are already too many taxis in Chippenham and now with this it looks like the suggestions for a taxi marshall service would be a complete waste of money.

“I hope Christmas will be all right and we will come out of it, but looking ahead to January and February is hard.

“It will be so quiet and I would consider leaving taxi driving if it gets too bad.

“I think this could be the final nail in the coffin for the town centre.”

The mood was more upbeat among shops located in the vicinity of the club.

Jane Baker, who owns The Flower Shop, opposite Karma, said she regularly comes in on Friday morning to find urine and vomit on her doorstep and has had her windows smashed on numerous occasions.

She said: “I’m very pleased that it has closed.

“There had been a few weeks recently where we had no trouble and I did think that maybe things had changed and improved.

“But then I came in to work on the Friday before last and there was sick all across my front windows.

“It is disgusting and I felt awful as my window cleaner was trying to clean it off.

“So I’m glad it’s gone, not only as a shop owner but as a mother.

“The drinks deals they have had in there, particularly on a Thursday when it has been 50p per shot, are totally irresponsible and just encourage people to go out and get smashed.

“If they had stopped things like that I think it could be improved, but they didn’t so I’m pleased the decision was upheld.”