A roulette wheel-making company that supplies to Atlantic City has bought the site of a former car showroom with the hope of building a factory there.

Ashford’s Lipscomb Fiat dealership in Chart Road, Ashford, could be redeveloped after being sold to Cammegh - a company which makes roulette wheels which are supplied globally.

A planning application was submitted to the council in November 2019 proposing the demolition of the former car showroom to make way for flats.

A year after the closure of the site, plans were approved to build 64 affordable flats at the location.

However, because the scheme provided overnight accommodation, it was unable to provide a suitable mitigation scheme to offset pollution and permission could not be issued.

This delay led Lipscomb to withdraw the application in September 2022 following the completion of the sale of the site to casino product making company, Cammegh.

Cammegh supplies its products worldwide and claims to make the “finest roulette wheel” in the world.

The company supplies to the UK, Macau, Barcelona and Atlantic City.

They have also been selected as the exclusive roulette and display supplier to the Aspers group, a five year deal that follows on from a successful installation of Mercury 360 roulette wheels at the Aspers Milton Keynes casino.

Cammegh is also the company behind Spread Bet Roulette.

The former car showroom, which sat opposite the tank roundabout, closed after 25 years in the town as bosses decided they wanted to focus on their other branches in Chartham and Aylesford.

The dealership - which previously sold Volvos - was refranchised to Fiat in 2008, but continued to offer services and parts for the Swedish brand.

The Volvo parts of the site closed first and the car showroom shut its doors for good not long after.

A number of uses were debated for the Chart Road site, including a hotel, food store, care home and a restaurant with a drive thru.

Small industrial units were also considered but there was already a new development on the Cobbs Wood Industrial Estate in nearby Carlton Road where many of the new units were yet to be let.

On a plot of land next to the ex-Lipscomb site, Ashford's fourth McDonald's is set to be built after plans were approved last year.