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More on KentOnline
A town's leisure complex has been given the go-ahead to expand its outdoor eating area by nearly three times its current size.
Plans to increase the outside terrace at the Lockmeadow Centre in Maidstone from 96m2 to 278m2 were approved by Maidstone Borough Council's (MBC) planning committee.
The expansion forms an important part of MBC's vision for the centre, since the local authority bought the leasehold from the previous private landlords in November 2019.
Last year it carried out a facelift of the exterior of the building with new paintwork and signage. The majority of the building has not changed since it was built in the 1990s.
A new food hall is set to open in October, which will replace three empty units, including former Gourmet Burger Kitchen premises. The firm announced it was shutting its Maidstone and Canterbury branches in October.
The other two units have been empty for four years.
Speaking last month to KentOnline, Alexa Kirsting- Woods, the council's head of commissioning and business improvement, said 35 businesses had expressed an interest in units, with five going "through the paperwork to agree terms and sign contracts", and one company, a bakery, confirmed.
Mrs Kirsting-Woods said the other tenants would have a range of offerings from burgers, to Caribbean food, Thai and Euro/Asian.
The expanded terrace, at the back of the centre, will be used by diners at the food hall.
The proposals were swiftly given planning permission during a meeting earlier last month, having been deferred during a June meeting, "for the submission of a landscaping scheme to soften the impact of the proposed development and provide a biodiversity net gain."
Planning documents state current conditions restrict the hours of use of the terrace beyond 11pm and no amplified music can be played there. These conditions will be carried over.
Speaking at the meeting, Cllr English said: "In general we need to do this and improve the leisure offer for the town."
As well as a food hall, the 'town square' behind the centre, previously used as a car park, will now be used as an event space with plans particularly for a Christmas market.
The green space nearby will be turned into a children's play area.
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