Waterstones is to return to a closure-hit shopping centre - and is set to open before Christmas.

The chain left Ashford’s County Square in June having occupied a spot next to Superdrug for more than a decade.

Its departure left many shoppers worried it would not seek a return to the town, leaving the company's branch in Tenterden High Street as the only one within a 10-mile radius.

However, the chain will now fill the former Jobcentre Plus and River Island unit two doors down in County Square.

A spokesperson for the shopping centre said: "We are delighted to confirm Waterstones will soon be returning to County Square.

"The aim is to be open for trade before Christmas."

The former Waterstones unit is to be occupied by Specsavers.

The opticians will move from its current unit next to EE into the vacant space on December 2.

In July, charity shop YMCA unexpectedly announced it was closing just three years after opening.

But County Square bosses said they are trying to find a suitable unit for the charity to relocate to.

A new tenant has been lined up to fill the charity’s former unit next to Poundland, although the details are yet to be confirmed.

Recent closures at County Square also include The Body Shop, which shut in February, and Peacocks, which left in March.

Other losses over the years have included Debenhams, River Island and H&M.

This year, County Square bosses added the shopping centre’s extension – which was completed in 2008 – to Ashford Borough Council's "call for sites".

This was an invitation to developers and landowners to submit plots for inclusion in the authority’s new Local Plan, which sets out where homes could be built in the borough up to 2041.

If accepted, 200 new homes could one day replace the extension at the shopping centre.

The upper floors are expected to be turned into housing, while the bottom floor - which includes a number of units that have never been occupied - would still be a retail space.

KentOnline has approached County Square for more information as to what will fill the soon-to-be vacant Specsavers unit and former Body Shop premises.