Plans have been submitted to tear down a huge waterfront shopping centre following its closure.

De Bradelei Wharf, in Dover, shut last Friday after 21 years due to rising costs and bills.

In total, 25 members of staff were made redundant.

Now, a planning application has been submitted to demolish the outlet, in Cambridge Road, and turn it into a car park until other plans for its use emerge.

Bosses at the Port of Dover own the large building and are behind the bid to knock it down.

In planning documents submitted to Dover District Council, they say: “[The] building is currently in [a] poor state of repair, requiring significant investment to repair or upgrade to meet current standards.

“This is not viable for current use.”

The application states the land will be an “interim car park until future redevelopment”.

Work is expected to start on July 31.

The closure of De Bradelei Wharf was first announced in April, with management citing a huge rise in energy bills, making the outlet centre unfeasible.

It closed for the final time last Friday, with site manager, Sally-Ann Vokes, describing it as the "end of an era” and a “very sad day”.

She added that 25 workers would be made redundant, including herself.

One department, ladies clothing, will be moving to a new premises in Biggin Street under the name Coastal in August.

The cafe has also relocated to Ashford.

Residents have responded to the centre’s closure with sadness, with others saying it had fallen into a bad state.

Commenting on the Facebook page of KentOnline’s sister paper the East Kent Mercury, Lyn Ratcliff said: “I'm sad that it has closed but recently it wasn't as good as it had been.”

Jean Jeffries added: “Yes I will miss the old shopping centre but not the way it was lately.”

Rob Wright and Andy Lawrence guessed it would become a car park.

De Bradelei Wharf was owned by JB Armstrong, which rented the building from Dover Harbour Board, which runs the port.

Its lease ended on April 7, but the authority let it stay on for three more months.

Some parts of De Bradelei Wharf were already empty by the time the closure was announcement in April.

The centre had been created from former shipyard sheds.

It was partly devised to attract customers who were passengers from Dover Cruise Terminal which opened at Dover Western Docks in 1996.

The 10-unit outlet had brands such as Skopes, Pavers Shoes, Klass, Julian Charles, Gabbicci, Regatta, Weird Fish, Emma and Odyssey.