A prime unit in Canterbury city centre with permission to become a late-night bar is set to become home to a vastly different occupier in the coming weeks.

The Department for Work Pensions wants to turn the former Currys store, on the corner of Longmarket and Burgate, into a Jobcentre.

The government department has earmarked the long-empty site as the ideal spot for a "short-term overflow" facility which will operate in conjunction with the city's existing Jobcentre in Northgate.

National chain Slug & Lettuce was originally planning on moving into the building but pulled out of the project, blaming the impact of the pandemic on the hospitality industry.

Despite the firm's departure, the owners of the site - LaFarge UK Pension Trustees Limited - still secured permission to turn the long-empty unit into a bar.

But the plans look some way off, as it is now proposed to open a temporary Jobcentre.

It will span across the bottom two floors of the building, with social distancing measures and protective screens being enforced.

The Department for Work Pensions (DWP) says: "This office will be a short-term overflow facility addressing the need for rapid expansion of the DWP estate to address the additional needs for more work coaches and unemployment support due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It’s aimed at a different clientele than that which normally attends Jobcentre Plus and will serve as a base for rapid face-to-face meetings between clients and job coaches attending clients by appointment only.

"We are attempting to open the new offices as quickly as possible to ensure we are ready to help people when they need us."

Canterbury City Council says the proposals still have to go through the same planning process as other applications.

The DWP says it wants permission to be rubber-stamped "at the earliest opportunity".

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