Latest in a long line of let-downs

It’s not the first time shoppers in Kent have been left disappointed by short-lived proposals.

A branch of Waitrose was included in Land Securities’ bid to develop neighbouring Newnham Court Shopping Village.

The £85m regeneration scheme, which also included a Debenhams and would have created 1,500 jobs, was rejected in 2014.

Proposals for a £50million refurbishment of Maidstone East Station which surfaced in 2012 but have since been shelved also included a food store, rumoured to be a Waitrose. Instead the Station Road site is the subject of a far more modest scheme which will see the derelict Victoria pub which sits in front of the ticket office torn down to make way for a public square.

Staplehurst, once the site of a fierce battle between Sainsbury’s and Tesco, is still unsure as to whether it will get either.

Tesco pulled out in 2013 after two planning applications were rejected, while Sainsbury’s has said it is reviewing its options and will make a decision next year.

Further away from home, in Herne Bay, a 32,000 sq ft branch of Sainsbury’s is likely to sit empty for at least another year after the firm backed out of plans to open at the Altira Business Park last year.

Bosses say they are still exploring a number of options for the abandoned building.