New plans for an empty M&Co store have been revealed - but the move has disappointed some who say the site should become a cinema again.

The first floor of the former Embassy Cinema building in Tenterden has been offered to the Rockits Sensory nursery which currently occupies a smaller unit on the High Street.

But to take the space, it needs to raise £20,000 to enable bosses to kit out the larger site.

Beth Whatman, who runs the sensory room, says the move is a big step forward but admits it is “quite scary”.

“Our current landlords have been incredibly supportive and made so much possible for us that we would never have dreamed,” she said.

“We are assessing with them the possibility of moving to a very large new home - there’s a lot of plans, it’s very exciting but we’ve got a lot of money that we need to raise to get there.

“So it’s all systems go here in Tenterden and we’re doing as much as we can to get the word out.”

“I always thought it should go back to being a cinema…”

Although scaffolding now surrounds the building, it is still unclear what plans are in place for the ground floor of the site that has remained vacant since M&Co went into administration for the second time in January last year.

Plans were approved by Ashford Borough Council (ABC) in February to turn the Embassy building into a mixed-use development of seven flats with a smaller retail space below.

Work to build the apartments would have included the construction of a second floor, stairs and a lift, with a rooftop balcony also being introduced.

But now Rockit Sensory has been offered a space, it is unclear if that scheme will still go ahead.

Hazel Savage, who has lived in Tenterden for 20 years, feels the site should become a cinema again.

“I think this would’ve brought many more people into Tenterden and I’m very disappointed that it’s not going to be.

“It would add to the nightlife, people could have used the cinema and then gone to the pubs.”

An ambitious scheme to restore a cinema to Tenterden was abandoned in 2022 after no suitable location could be found.

The approved plans for the M&Co site were submitted by Pierre Edmonds, who owns the nearby London Beach County Hotel in St Michaels and is also the current landlord of Rockit Sensory.

The proposal waved through by ABC last month states there has been difficulty attracting a suitor following the closure of the fashion chain.

Deborah Theobald, who has worked in Tenterden for 33 years, thinks the vacant spot offers a great opportunity for smaller retailers in the town.

“It’s better to have it used than not and it would’ve been nice to have a cinema in the area but I’m not sure whether that’s viable,” she said.

“I think smaller, independent businesses suit this high street.

“It makes it different and it’s a reason for people to come to Tenterden instead.”

Pluckley resident Christopher Long, 65, who was visiting Tenterden, agreed, saying: “High streets generally are dying and anything that reinvigorates them is a good thing.”

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The Embassy Cinema opened in 1937 with an 800-seater auditorium and the first film to be shown was Windbag the Sailor starring Will Hay and Graham Moffatt.

The final screening was on December 10, 1969 – the last time a cinema operated permanently in Tenterden.

Rockits Sensory has now raised £14,000 of its £20,000 target.