A car park used as a Covid-19 testing centre in Ashford will reopen in the summer as the facility is being taken down.

The council-run car park in Victoria Road opened as a PCR testing unit in June 2020 as the district suffered one of the highest infection rates in the country.

But now, as part of the government's 'Living with Covid’ plan, all testing sites in England were closed on March 31.

Teams are currently dismantling the unit which should be gone by the week commencing April 25 but the car park may not reopen until the summer.

An Ashford Borough Council spokesman said: “The car park will come back to ABC control at the end of this month and, following assessment of the surface and any subsequent works required, we aim to reopen it this summer.”

Trish Mannes, deputy director for health protection at UKHSA South East, said: “As part of the government’s ‘Living with Covid’ plan, all testing sites in England for the general public closed on March 31 and there is now a process of removing buildings and equipment from each site.

"Free PCR and LFD tests will continue to be available to specific groups.

"The government has retained a rapid testing capability should it be needed, such as if there is an emergence of a new variant of concern."

When it first opened, anxious residents raised concerns over its location next to Victoria Road Primary School and overlooking the busy footbridge.

The drive-through facility became particularly busy in December 2020 when France reopened its borders.

It previously closed them over fears of a new strain of the virus.

The decision prompted a surge in demand for truckers who needed a negative test to travel.

The car park, which has 99 spaces, had only opened in February 2020.