by James Scott
jscott@thekmgroup.co.uk

A new tenant has not been found to replace Homebase at Sevington, the owners have confirmed.

The kitchen, garden and furniture retail giant closed its store at Ashford Business Park, Barrey Road, last Saturday.

Homebase said its lease at the 42,900 sq ft site had expired and had not been renewed by the landlord.

Henderson Global Investors, who bought part of the park for £14.25million last year, said that the site was being marketed but a new tenant had not been found.

Despite this, the firm’s subsidiary Henderson UK Retail Warehouse Fund has applied to Ashford Borough Council for permission to reclad the unit “in line with the adjacent upgraded units within the park.”

The proposal to upgrade the existing cladding of the store, including four glazed sections, is to provide the facilities required for occupation by a “modern retailer.”

Rumours that the unit would be taken over by Marks & Spencer were denied last month. An M&S spokesman said that although they were looking at new sites, Ashford Business Park was not one of them.

Full story in this week's Kentish EXpress.