KentOnline

bannermobile

News

Sport

Business

What's On

Advertise

Contact

Other KM sites

CORONAVIRUS WATCH KMTV LIVE SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTERS LISTEN TO OUR PODCASTS LISTEN TO KMFM
SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE
News

County Square shopping centre in Ashford gets new owners as H&M and Next confirm store closures

By: Dan Wright dwright@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 05:00, 10 March 2022

Updated: 16:14, 10 March 2022

New owners have been found for Ashford's County Square shopping centre – just as H&M and Next confirm they are BOTH leaving for good.

The shock double blow is set to create a gaping hole at the mall, which was put on the market for £13.5m last year.

New Look remains in the closure-hit County Square extension but many other big-name clothing chains have pulled out

But the new team in charge, who are keeping their identity under wraps, say they are committed to improving the site and are prepared to put in the time and investment needed to do so.

Omid Rezaei, of London-based real estate investment consultants Landswood de Coy, which is working on behalf of the owners, says food and drink outlets or office space could fill part of the closure-hit extension.

H&M and Next are to follow Debenhams and River Island in leaving the second phase of the centre, which cost £60m and opened in 2008.

mpu1

Mr Rezaei told KentOnline's sister title the Kentish Express: “Our client is looking at different options – it is in no one’s interest for it to be sitting empty.

“It is a volatile market and there’s a lot of things that are outside their control.

Bosses say they may consider splitting up the abandoned three-storey Debenhams
The two-storey Next shop will close in the autumn

“There is no definite answer – they have got to find the right tenants and work with them; they are looking at a number of possibilities and it depends on demand.”

Mr Rezaei ruled out any residential element at County Square, saying the Park Mall shopping centre – which Ashford Borough Council has earmarked for development in its long-term plans – is “better placed” for such a project.

He said bosses are still keen to find big-name retailers to fill the empty units, but would consider splitting up the three-storey former Debenhams to cater for smaller firms.

Any office space could have its own entrance, potentially from Elwick Road, while the possibility of adding food and drink outlets to the centre “is being explored”.

Mr Rezaei added: “A lot of centres are becoming destinations – Elwick Place on the other side of the road has done well and there is no reason why that can’t continue.

Read more!
Elwick Place opened opposite County Square in December 2018. Picture: Ady Kerry/Ashford Borough Council
Some of the 21 new units added to the centre in 2008 have never been filled, including this one which faces Apsley Street

“The vibrancy you get with food and leisure is definitely something to explore.

mpu2

“But it is not something that will happen this week or overnight and our clients are very well aware of the wider market conditions.”

Mr Rezaei says the new owners “did try to retain Next as best they could, but unfortunately couldn’t convince them to stay”.

Next opened in County Square in 2008
Shoppers enjoying the three-storey Debenhams on its opening day in March 2008

Although an exact date has yet to be revealed, Next says its two-storey shop will be shutting “around autumn time”.

“We can confirm that our County Square store will be closing,” a spokesman said.

“Unfortunately we can’t disclose any more information at this time.”

H&M in County Square is to shut this weekend after 14 years in the town
H&M shuts for good on Sunday

Last week, H&M confirmed it will be leaving County Square this Sunday.

It neighbours Next and both stores face the hole left by Debenhams, which pulled out of the centre in January 2020.

River Island also quit the mall in the same year, and has since been replaced by a Jobcentre.

Fourteen years after this photo was taken, the River Island unit now houses a Jobcentre
The new Jobcentre opened in County Square last summer

A spokesman for ABC said the authority “has no control over who decides to move into the centre”.

“With the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic speeding up the trend of shoppers transitioning to online retail, and having had a considerable impact on town centres across the country, Ashford is feeling the effects of these changes like many towns,” he said.

“The news about H&M and Next are big blows for the town centre, and the council will be working with the new owners to seek to retain existing stores and work to attract new businesses into the centre as they bring forward their plans.”

'People shouldn’t assume we’re going to go back to the high streets or shopping malls of the 1990s...'

The spokesman added that the council is not responsible for setting business rates, but is “supporting town centre businesses by offering discounted and free parking”.

Following the closure announcements, Ashford MP Damian Green says the loss of the stores “is a blow and there’s no point trying to disguise it”.

“It just shows generally the state of the high street around the country – it is incredibly difficult even for big, successful chains to make money so they’re all retrenching,” he said.

Ashford MP Damian Green says the "right mix" needs to be found for County Square
Developers released this artist’s impression of the centre’s extension back in 2003

“I think it shows that the long-term future will be a small number of big, anchor stores and a lot of local destinations, either specialist stores or entertainment and food and drink venues.

“The mix is going to change on the high street and in places like County Square.

“You have got to find things people can only do out of their own homes these days, because more and more people do their food shopping from home and increasingly people do clothes shopping as well.

“You have got to find reasons for people to actually physically turn up.

HomePlus has filled the former M&S unit in the original part of County Square
The centre had been owned by international investment firm Kennedy Wilson since 2013

“It is all very sad and, like everyone else, I hate seeing empty shops in shopping malls or on the high street.

“There are parts of County Square that are working perfectly well and are pretty successful so there’s clearly enough demand and enough footfall in Ashford to keep it going.

“It’s just a question of getting the right mix.

“People shouldn’t just assume that at some stage we’re going to go back to the high streets or shopping malls of the 1990s.”

Next and H&M sit opposite the abandoned Debenhams in the £60m County Square extension
Originally called the Tufton Centre, the site is pictured here in 1975. Picture: Steve Salter

The Kentish Express asked Primark to respond to the continued speculation it could fill the abandoned Debenhams.

A spokeswoman said: “We continually review opportunities for expansion of the Primark business however, as you’d expect, we don’t comment on speculation about where or when we might open our next stores.”

For a long-read archive feature looking back at the history of County Square, click here

More by this author

sticky

© KM Group - 2024