Doomed DIY store to sit empty

A new tenant has yet to be found for the city’s soon-to-be-vacant Homebase store, despite the council knowing of the retailer’s impending departure for five months.

The long-standing Homebase outlet in Wincheap will close its doors for the final time in the last week of January.

After buying the site for £3.5 million in 2013, the city council has been leasing the Cow Lane superstore back to the DIY chain for a substantial rent.

But with Homebase bowing out of Canterbury as part of a company restructure, the authority’s income from the site will dry up.

In August last year, council spokesman Rob Davies said: “We’re ready to start talking to potential occupiers of the site whenever we need to.”

Yet, five months down the line, no new tenant has been secured - meaning the store will sit empty come the end of the month.

When asked if it had been in talks with potential tenants, the council did not answer but said: “We’re marketing the site and are working to get a suitable tenant(s) in as soon as possible.”

The scenario has left Wincheao councillor Nick Eden-green (Lib Dem) puzzled.

“I find it extraordinary,” he said. “For any asset to sit idle for any length of time is bad, but for such an expensive site to be empty is not good. It could become a draw for vandalism and graffiti, meaning the council will have to pay for security at the site. The council would have known the lease is coming to an end, so to not find a new tenant is extraordinary.”

Canterbury’s store was among 42 earmarked for closure as part of a restructure following a disastrous takeover by Bunnings.

Cllr Eden-green believes uncertainty over the council’s plan for the Wincheap relief road is one of the reasons why potential occupiers may be reluctant to move in.

No concrete proposal has yet been laid out - with one plan showing the new road cutting through the Homebase car park.

“That is bound to be an issue for a tenant,” Cllr Eden-green said. “I’m not sure they would want to come without knowing what is going to happen.”

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