Prime retail unit says farewell to BHS

With BHS becoming yet another major tenant exiting Ashford, this week’s Remember When looks back at one of the town centre’s largest retail units, wondering exactly who will grab what could be described as the most prime unit of them all.

This weekend, failed national chain BHS closes its County Square store much to the sadness of shoppers – not just in Ashford, but across the whole country.

British Home Stores, as it was often known, became a national institution in towns up and down the country, but in recent years, sustaining business became an enormous struggle, ultimately leading to the chain’s demise.

For the town centre to have such a huge retail unit empty is bad news, and we can only hope that a suitable replacement retailer can be found sooner rather than later.

The soon to be vacated store was originally built for supermarket giant Tesco, which in 1975 opened a brand new Home and Wear store in the shopping development originally known as the Tufton Centre.

Larger than any other food retailer’s premises in the town centre at the time, competition such that Sainsbury’s – who were then occupying 56 High Street (now Boots the Chemist) – initiated a construction programme to build a bigger store that opened in Park Street (now Wilko) in 1978.

Tesco fell out of love with town-centre shopping in Ashford by 1987, and by August of that year, it had closed its bustling Tufton Centre store in favour of outof-town shopping.

It wasn’t long before the prime retail space was filled by one-time clothing and homeware retailer Littlewoods.

The store was opened by TV personality and comedian Tom O’Connor and included a restaurant.

It was in the late 1990s that BHS took over many of the Littlewoods department stores, and Ashford’s was one of them.

Many Ashfordians have overwhelmingly agreed that they would like Primark to come to town, and the retailer would certainly be an ideal candidate to fill the huge void left by BHS, but Primark has always said it has no plans to open a store in the town.

I wonder if the BHS departure will change its mind.

The trio of pictures this week look back at the former home of Tesco and latterly Littlewoods in the days before BHS came to town.

Do you have any photographs or slides that you would be willing to lend me, to enable them to be scanned and featured in the Kentish Express?

If so, please write to me: Steve Salter, Kentish Express Remember When, 34-36 North Street, Ashford TN24 8JR; or email me at rememberwhen_ kmash@hotmail.co.uk or follow me on Twitter @ SteveKMAshford.

You can also leave a telephone message for me with brief details by calling 01233 623232.

The Tufton Centre in 1975, showing the opening day of the Tesco Home and Wear store. It boasted the biggest food-selling floor space in the town centre at the time and contained a comprehensive home and wear department upstairs.

The Tufton Centre is pictured from above during its construction in 1974. Apsley Street is on the left, with the Post Office in Tufton Street on the right. The works huts (centre right) are actually positioned where today’s central square inside County...