Cannabis oil retailer closes Castle Quarter shop

Two shops selling products derived from cannabis or hemp plants have closed in Norwich.

Your CBD sold cannabidiol (CBD) oils, creams and and balms out of Norwich's Castle Quarter and another unit in Aylsham Road. 

Products using the CBD chemical are widely available across the UK and will not give users a high as they do not contain THC (tetrahydrocannabinol).

Your CBD will now solely operate online.

David Walker, director of Your CBD Store, said: "The Castle Mall store has quietened down an awful lot in the last few months.

"So for us it was purely a financial decision - the shops were doing OK but it didn't seem viable to keep them open."

Bosses at the city shopping hub said footfall to the centre in general is outperforming other malls in the country.

Robert Bradley, manager of Castle Quarter, said: "Over the past two years, we have transformed Castle Quarter into a mixed-use venue with a major focus on leisure and entertainment.  

"Our leisure tenants are complemented by well-established and niche retailers that customers want to visit.  

"Footfall at Castle Quarter is outperforming the national average for shopping centres and many of our stores report that they are now outperforming their pre-Covid levels.  

"With venues such as Putt Putt Noodle and Boom Battle Bar thriving, and Escape Hunt and Castle Social preparing to open in the next few months, the future is looking very bright for Castle Quarter."

The focus for Your CBD Store is now to put more attention into its online ventures.

Mr Walker added: "I think there is a big recession coming soon and the first thing people will do is cut out their luxuries.

"So we have put more resource into our website where we sell all the same products for people that were in the shops.

"Maybe we'll open a shop again if we think things will pick up."

The NHS website recommends users of CBD should notify GPs before using products as it can impact how other medicines work.