For many the pandemic delivered a final nail in the coffin for high streets across the country.

But councils are determined to pull people back. In Maidstone the ambition is to offer an alternative to places like Bluewater but as the town's prominent M&S shuts one business expert thinks that's far easier said than done.

The impact and repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic are visible across the country, but perhaps no more so than in town centres, and Kent is no exception.

While online shopping and out-of-town retail parks have threatened and encroached on the dominance of high streets for decades, the pandemic saw such changes accelerate.

Across the county, national retailers such as Debenhams and John Lewis fled from large, costly units in high streets and on the outskirts of town, which are yet to be filled.

In Maidstone the large and prominent M&S store in Week Street will close today following more than a hundred years of trading in the centre.

The closure came after the company opened a shop on the outskirts of the town, in Eclipse Park, in August 2020.

Discussing the closure, shoppers cast doubt over whether such a huge unit could be filled, and described it as a blow to the town.

Local authorities across the country are now planning how they can adapt and protect the high street in order to entice visitors back.

Last month, faced with M&S looming departure Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) voted to protect the 'primary shopping centre' in the county town from developers converting empty shops and offices into homes without first having to get planning permission, by serving a non-immediate article 4 direction.

Since March 2020, the beginning of the pandemic, national brands such as DW Sports, Accessorize, and the Co-op, amongst others, have closed stores in the town centre.

MBC's decision to serve an article 4 came after a new category of use for buildings was introduced, which combines retail, offices and leisure.

In the summer, a new permitted development right was also introduced, which allows for these uses to change to residential without the need for planning permission, although certain conditions, such as those regarding noise and transportation, would still have to be met through a prior approval process.

Speaking at the Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee meeting on December 7, MBC's head of planning and development, Rob Jarman, said "if the market is able to just continue there's a strong possibility that the town will become dominated by residential."

He added: "I think most people would say some of the actual quality of some of the conversions under permitted development leave something to be desired."

Explaining the decision, MBC leader Cllr David Burton said there will probably be more "people living in town centres" in the future, but added it was important to make sure the conversions are of a high quality.

He said: "As a council I think it's our job to shape which parts of the town change in that way, which parts of the town must retain their characteristics."

He added the council should make sure the "change is quality and the the best outcome we can get for the residents."

The article 4 directive is just part of MBC's plan for the town centre. In November, its brainchild, a food hall at Lockmeadow complex, called Lovefood@Lockmeadow, opened, with eight outlets.

The council is currently working on creating a town centre strategy, which according to council documents "will be focused upon a 30 year vision to embed new investment in jobs, infrastructure, housing, leisure and culture within a framework which will seek to establish Maidstone as an exemplar of urban sustainability."

The strategy is a long way off becoming a reality, with particular projects not yet identified and different committees reporting back to the Policy and Resources Committee, which is leading the scheme.

A report prepared in November for the communities, housing and environment committee laid out the challenges facing Maidstone town centre and many others in the county.

It says the challenges are as a result of changes in retailing patterns and the demand for offices as well as "viability challenges" in delivering new housing.

The report goes on: "Again, in common with many other areas, these issues have been exacerbated over the last 18 months by the impact of

the Covid-19 Pandemic."

Speaking about the vision for the town centre, Cllr Burton said: "The reality is online shopping has transformed our need to visit the high street. It isn't going to be built on fully retail any more."

"I suspect the town centre will be become more focussed on being a place to socialise," he added.

He wants to see some sort of attraction happening in Maidstone every week, which bring in visitors, rather than them going to Bluewater, he said. "It's the reputation we need to build that Maidstone is actually a nice place to spend some time, we have got a lot of heritage, we have got the cinema, got the offering at Lockmeadow, we have got a fantastic museum," he added.

Reflecting on what's next for town, business forecaster Professor Richard Scase, from the University of Kent, said the "days of the High Street are dead", saying that national retailers, which are fleeing towns, are needed to support smaller businesses.

He added that town centres need a "unique selling proposition" to pull in shoppers.

Kent business expert Professor Richard Scase fears town centres will continue to decline

"The key is you have got to create an alternative destination in city centres, in Canterbury it's heritage. Maidstone has got to make the centre an attractive destination.

"My image of Maidstone, it's bloody difficult in there, the issue of parking, the whole experience is miserable, why would you go into Maidstone at the best of times?"

MBC is not the only local authority trying to rejuvinate their town centre.

Medway Council's development arm, Medway Development Company (MDC) is behind projects to build new homes in Chatham, including at Mountbatten House - which the council recently purchased for £1.975 million - and at Chatham Waterfront which will eventually host 182 new flats.

A video setting out MDC's ambitions for the area around the Brook Theatre and the Chatham Waterfront bus station was unveiled at a committee meeting earlier in December.

It imagines plans for new commercial space and a new public plaza, gardens, and spaces for outdoor pop-up restaurants.

Canterbury City Council is also planning a controversial £1.2million makeover of the city's high street.

The authority is to chop down five trees and rip up the paving between Superdrug and Metro Bank in a bid to boost the attractiveness of St George’s Street.

But opponents worry the project – which will spell the end of the city’s market after 668 years – will expose the “ugly” exterior of shop frontages.

How should councils be tempting people back? Give your view in the comments