TWO Swindon high street stores are set for permanent closure, as Topshop owners Arcadia scraped through plans to close 48 shops around the country.

The two stores, which are home to brands Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Burton, Wallis and Evans, are now expected to shut. Swindon’s Topshop and Topman outlet in the town centre will remain open.

The confirmation comes after Arcadia, which owns the fashion chains, received the backing of landlords in a knife-edge vote.

The firm announced this afternoon that its company voluntary arrangements had all been voted through at a meeting of creditors.

It means reduced rents for Arcadia, but the majority of the company's 18,000 workers will not lose their jobs. However, nationwide around 1,000 jobs are at risk as 23 stores will close. A further 25 shops will be shuttered as part of a wider restructuring.

Ian Grabiner, Arcadia chief executive, said: "I am confident about the future of Arcadia and our ability to provide our customers with the very best multi-channel experience, deliver the fashion trends that they demand, and ultimately inspire a renewed loyalty to our brands that will support the long-term growth of our business.”

Dale Heenan, Swindon Borough Council cabinet member for the town centre, called on the government to reform the CVA system, which allows firms to cut costs by slashing the rents paid to landlords.

"Government must reform CVAs and businesses rates urgently, so bricks and mortar is on a level playing field to online shopping," he said.

"The council is doing all it can to support businesses change, and that is why projects like the North Star Leisure Complex with the ski slope and the Brunel Centre are so crucial to our future."

Following the announcement last month that stores would shut, inSwindon BID chief executive Di Powell said she was deeply saddened at news of more shop closures.