A new food outlet, which opens tomorrow (Saturday), is the latest business to get money under a council’s Town Centre Business Grants Scheme.

Peckish Rotisserie Chicken, in Worthington Street, Dover, got the maximum £10,000 from Dover District Council to help it open on the previously empty site.

Owner Neil Maynard said: “This grant has enabled us to invest in Dover town centre and offer career development opportunities to local people.

" As with all of our stores, we look to employ locally and this goes a long way to helping us with that aim.”

The grants scheme is to help revive high streets across the district, providing financial support to help local businesses bring empty commercial properties back into use.

It offers sums of up to £10,000 to bring commercial properties back into use, or up to £1,000 for shopfront refurbishments.

The council has also launched a £10,000 grant scheme for green energy improvements across the district.

To date DDC has provided over £230,000 in funding under the scheme, with 53 grants to support town centre businesses in Dover, Deal and Sandwich.

Cllr Trevor Bartlett, Leader of Dover District Council, said: “We’re very pleased to see another town centre building brought back into use, and to see another local business opening. This is another example of how our business grant scheme can help to support local business and continue to regenerate our town centres.”

The Town Centre Business Grants scheme was set up in 2018 to support enterprises in the town centres of Dover, Deal and Sandwich.

It was at a time when Dover' precinct had a high proportion of empty premises and existing town centre shops needed to survive with the arrival of the St James' Retail and Leisure Park that year.

For more information on Town Centre Business Grants, including other successful applicants, see the business grants pages on the DDC website.

Read more: All the latest news from Dover