A hot food takeaway is set to fill an empty unit in a shopping centre which previously housed a national bakery chain.

Ashford's County Square had been home to a Warrens Bakery shop for two years before the site closed in October.

Its former unit has remained empty since then but a planning application has now been submitted requesting permission for a change of use.

County Square bosses do not name the proposed tenant in the application sent to Ashford Borough Council, but a takeaway pizza chain has been linked to the site.

Warrens Bakery, which claims to be the oldest Cornish pasty-maker in the world, had opened in County Square in July 2018, creating eight jobs.

But the 160-year-old firm has completed a string of closures across the country this year - and added Ashford to its list in the autumn.

It had made redundancies prior to the Covid-19 pandemic - blaming Brexit uncertainty as one of the main causes.

Last week, KentOnline revealed how a former toy shop unit in the County Square extension has become a blood plasma donation centre.

Nearby residents who have recovered from coronavirus are being asked to donate plasma at the site, which can be given to ongoing patients to speed recovery.

Earlier this month, pizza delivery shop Fireaway and TK’s Fish and Chips opened at the bottom of Bank Street.

To view the plan for the former Warrens Bakery unit, visit www.ashford.gov.uk and search for planning reference 20/01724/AS.

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