Speculation still surrounds the future of Herne Bay’s new Sainsbury’s – nine months after bosses at the supermarket giant revealed they were pulling out of the town.

Developer Urban&Civic handed the building over to the chain at the end of April, but the 100,000 sq ft building has remained empty.

The store, on the Altira Business Park in Broomfield, is protected by round-the-clock security and Sainsbury’s bosses are paying rent on the site.

Herne Bay Town Partners chairman Gideon Scott has stayed in contact with the developers throughout the year.

He said: “It is a beautiful big building, but it will always be down to Sainsbury’s to decide what to do with it.

“They have other things going on in their world, but only they can make the decision.

“They are paying rent for it and there is 24-hour security there, so you would think they would want it open.”

"It is a beautiful big building..." - Gideon Scott

When the Herne Bay Gazette asked Sainsbury’s for a comment on the situation, spokesman David Mills said they were “continuing to look at a number of options” for the site.

In March, Sainsbury’s admitted the store could sit empty for as long as two years, but did not comment further on the situation when asked this week.

The scheme was approved by the city council in October last year and was set to create an estimated 225 jobs.

Plans also included a 16-pump petrol station near the Broomfield flyover, but work stopped on that site in the spring.

Rumours circulating online in July suggested the giant store could be taken over by Asda in time for Christmas, but the speculation was rubbished by the rival chain.