Shop owners in Ashford express concerns over the planned demolition of Park Mall and Edinburgh Road car park.
Park Mall has lost shops recently, yet some stores remain there. Poundstretcher and Savers are still open. The council plans a temporary car park and are considering future building ideas. Business owners feel surprised by the quick choice.
Wilko closed in 2023 at Park Mall, a big loss for the community. The council wants to build homes later on, although it’s unclear how many they will build. Russell Geen, who owns The Little Teapot cafe, thinks this hurts the town.
Russell Geen stated they were given six months’ notice, which he did not expect. He said they had been talking about it since 2017. He also believes the car park won’t be temporary and that Ashford is losing unique shops.
The council wants to turn the mall into homes and they have held the lease since 2015. They bought the freehold recently, in December. According to the council, six months allows adequate time to move.
Joe Bartlett, who runs Baby Art Studios, considers the notice too short. He says there are no plans to help shops move, and that they would just be left to private landlords. He believes the car park hurts the town.
David Hebditch, also from Baby Art Studios, wants the council to pay compensation. He thinks the short notice is unfair, requesting 12 months and money for costs. He also claims the council waited to tell them.
Louisa Bennett, owner of Salvage Studio, supports vulnerable adults. The timeframe is hard for her business, as she thought she would have longer than six months. She says they just settled in recently and now needs to inform the adults about this.
The council will apply for permission to demolish. They plan to help shops relocate in town. O2, Greggs, and Kamsons will remain open as they face the Upper High Street, so these shops won’t be affected by demolition.
The council said it is acting like a landlord, where every shop has a different lease. Leases let them give notice to tenants, and they extended some notices to six months. Park Mall loses money and is declining.
The Edinburgh Road car park has 210 spaces. The top is closed because of structural problems, and the lifts often break. The council states this move reduces council losses and paves the way for future development, saying maintenance is expensive and not sustainable.
They planned this since buying the lease in 2015, initially wanting to revive shopping short-term. Long-term plans were different because shopping is changing. Wilko’s closure affected the number of shoppers, further influencing this plan after they bought the freehold.
The council hopes shops stay in town, stating many vacant units exist. They acknowledge some shops may move to other towns, and some might close permanently because of this situation. The council said they will help shops move, providing advice and support.
The council will look for building partners soon. These partners will propose ideas for the site. They currently don’t know exactly when demolition will start, but they anticipate it will probably happen early next year.