Waitrose pulled out last month

between those in favour and those against, and permission was granted on the casting vote of the planning committee chairman Cllr Richard Lusty (Con).

Those opposed then tried to get the Secretary of State call in the application to overrule the council, but he declined.

Next eventually opened in November 2014, with a 6,000 sq m sales floor and 167 parking spaces. Premier supermarket Waitrose was first part of a proposal for a major redevelopment of the Newnham Court Shopping Village on the opposite side of the road to Eclipse Park.

But planning permission for that was rejected in December 2014.

Maidstone council and the Gallagher Group could not reach agreement on the renewal of the council’s lease on the adjacent 550space Sittingbourne Road Park and Ride site, owned by Gallaghers.

The month before the lease officially ended and the Park and Ride closed in February 2016, Waitrose announced it was interested in creating a new superstore on the site. It was set to be the biggest in Kent.

An application for a £14m store with 300 parking spaces was submitted and received approval in May.

But less than four months later, Waitrose announced it had changed its mind and was pulling out, saying no agreement had been signed and it was not possible to progress with the plans.