An “unwelcoming” high street grot spot is set for a £200,000 refurbishment.

The courtyard outside the abandoned former Nason’s department store in Canterbury currently hosts a memorial to a historical army unit, along with seating and some flowerbeds.

Despite being a prominent city centre site, St Mary Bredman Square has become rundown and is considered an eyesore.

Canterbury City Council (CCC) has long held ambitions to improve the area using some of the £22 million in Levelling Up funding it was awarded by the previous government.

An application has now officially been lodged with the authority’s planning department for the redesign.

A council spokesman told KentOnline the aim of the scheme is to make the courtyard “much more welcoming”.

Wide steps from the high street would be added, along with a planting bed against the wall of the Santander bank branch.

That wall - currently marred by black stains and washed-out graffiti - will also be adorned with a mural that reflects the church of St Mary Bredman that once stood on the site.

The spokesman said: "We're working with the diocese and Santander on the final designs for the mural, so the artist's impression is just a proposal at this stage.

"We have also been given permission from the agents dealing with the former Nason's store to replace all the old and damaged vinyls on the Nason's windows so that these will be in the same style as the mural.

"The estimated cost of the project is around £200,000 but we'll know once the final design for the mural and materials are settled on."

The Grade II-listed memorial in the courtyard was built in 1922 and includes both the structure honouring the Royal East Kent Yeomanry and an ornamental horse trough dedicated to cavalry soldiers and their steeds.

The Nason’s store is also Grade II-listed and once formed part of the St Mary Bredman Church.

Stewart Ross, chairman of Canterbury Commemoration Society, praised the council’s plans.

“Certainly it needs to be done because it’s a pretty crucial area in the history of Canterbury,” he told KentOnline.

“We’ve been campaigning to get it done for a long time and at the moment because it’s very inaccessible.

“It could be quite attractive and we’d support any work being done to improve it.”

He added that the Society had previously lobbied for the new statue of novelist Aphra Behn to be placed in the square.

However, that sculpture has been installed outside the Beaney museum further down High Street instead and was unveiled by Queen Camilla in February.

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Mr Ross also suggested the war memorial should be moved again to the Dane John Gardens, closer to other memorials.

“It needs a bit of artwork there rather than that out-of-place memorial statue,” he added.

It is not yet known when the council’s planning committee will decide on the application, but a deadline of May 26 has been set.