DIY giant B&Q, which is set to depart from Folkestone in January, has already began stripping services from the current premises.

The company, which has a store at the Park Farm Industrial Estate, said it would launch an official closing down sale at the end of this month October.

It will end in January when the store officially closes.

This also means that some of the products are being removed, such as the store’s click and collect service and the Trade Point desk.

Customers buying kitchens, bedrooms or bathrooms are already being relocated to Dover or Ashford stores.

Since the chain announced it was pulling out of town, mystery has surrounded its replacement at the site.

A planning application submitted to Shepway District Council by B&Q and Madford Developments confirms that a “minor” extension will increase the shop floor space.

The retail statement, as part of the application, said: “The application is required to facilitate the reoccupation of the building following the closure of the B&Q store early in 2017.

“It forms part of a wider package of investment to ensure that the floorspace remains in productive economic use and retains employment positions at the site.”

The retail document, which is 48 pages long, indicates that a replacement store will stock clothes for all ages, food and newspapers and that its direct competition will be with Sainsbury’s and Home Bargains, also within the industrial estate.

Various supermarkets such as Waitrose and Aldi have denied any plans to come to Folkestone.

M&S Simply Food has remained tight-lipped about plans for that specific site but said it was interested in Folkestone for a future store.

An M&S spokesman said: “We are always looking for new store locations so that we can best serve our customers.

“While we are interested in bringing a store to the Folkestone area, we don’t have any further details to confirm at present.”

If a new M&S store comes to fruition, it will be exactly 10 years since Marks & Spencer’s left the town’s High Street in 2007.