A Homebase branch which was put on the market after the chain went into administration has closed.

Staff and customers have expressed their sadness over the closure of Homebase in Herne Bay which shut its doors yesterday (February 15).

It comes after the home and garden company fell into administration and was unable to find a buyer.

Reacting to the closure of the Eddington Business Park branch on Facebook, one employee, who had worked there for 18 years, wrote: “It has been a pleasure serving such wonderful customers, you made my job an absolute pleasure, thank you all.”

In response, many customers expressed their hope that the staff would be able to find new jobs.

Jackie Hardy wrote: “The staff were always so helpful. I hope they have found other jobs.

“It’s a shame it’s not big enough to become an IKEA.”

Echoing this sentiment, another commenter wrote: “They [the staff] were all so lovely there. Always my first port of call for DIY.

“I will miss the lovely gardener staff too, always smiling and helpful.”

At the end of November, six of the eight Kent branches were put on the market and administrators set a deadline of November 29 for potential suitors to buy the remaining stores.

In December, “closing down sale” signs appeared in shop windows across the country.

The closure of the Herne Bay branch leaves yet another unit at Eddington Business Park vacant.

Halfords closed in September 2019 when it moved to Whitstable.

Plans for discount store B&M to fill that void were given the green light two months later.

However, the move, which was never confirmed by the budget store, was abandoned in 2021.

A planning application to change the building's use to a "discount store" had been given the go-ahead by Canterbury City Council.