A high street banking chain has announced it is to replace Burger King in Maidstone’s town centre.

The fast food restaurant has flanked the entrance to Week Street at the junction with High Street for more than 20 years but will soon be replaced by Metro Bank PLC.

The financial institution announced this week it will fill the space and expand into the neighbouring Peppermint clothes store, which closed in September, giving it 1,000 sq ft of floor space.

A spokesman for the company said: “We can confirm that Metro Bank will open in Maidstone this year.

While building work has not begun on site, planning permission has been granted.”

Meanwhile Burger King will move further down the pedestrianised street into another famous town centre building, C&H Fabrics.

External work has already started at the former craft store on the corner of Union Street after the burger giant received change of use permission from Maidstone Borough Council earlier this year. The chain’s distinctive signs have already been put up on the facade, while construction inside the building is yet to begin.

C&H Fabrics had been at the centre of the town’s retail scene for more than 40 years when it closed four years ago.

It is believed the fast food restaurant will shut its doors next week, although the company has not responded to requests for more information.

A spokesman for Maidstone Town Centre Management said: “TCM is always supportive of new business in Maidstone and we’re delighted that the town has attracted Metro Bank.

“We closely monitor the changing face of the town centre in terms of its offer and are pleased to see that Burger King will not be leaving altogether to accommodate this change but will be relocating to a new site further along Week Street.

“It’s encouraging to see new businesses arrive but equally important to retain our existing ones.”

The news comes as McDonald’s opened its third branch in the County Town.