A former JC Rook & Sons site in Ramsgate is set to be converted into a taxi repair workshop.

The butchers firm had 11 stores across east and mid Kent, but after more than 50 years went into administration in March 2022, following a challenging period during the pandemic.

Since then, a number of the empty units have been taken over and converted, including the shop in Ramsgate, and now the former storage and production depot on Cecilia Road will be be used by a taxi firm.

The proposals were waved through at a Thanet District Council planning committee on October 18, after no objections were raised by the public.

The location forms part of a “smaller component of a much larger site,” according to planning documents submitted by John Elvidge Planning Consultancy.

Submitted in September, the document explains how “the applicant had been searching since around 2017 for appropriate premises to use for vehicle parking, repair and maintenance purposes in connection with the operation of his Ramsgate based taxi business.”

The building is to be split into three separate units, one of which will be the taxi repair garage, while the use for the remaining two is not yet known.

JC Rook & Sons was founded by Joseph Rook in 1965, with the first butchers shop on the market square, in Dover.

It was one of the county’s oldest and biggest butchery firms, employing 130 people for more than 55 years.

The demise of the chain was blamed on a fall in trade throughout the Covid lockdowns.

Since then, the firm’s first site, in Dover, has been turned into a convenience store, while a new butchers replaced their store in Folkestone.

The Ramsgate shop has been turned into an indoor market known as Hidden Treasures, selling antiques, bric-a-brac and vintage clothes.

Last month, it was announced that Jenkins & Son Fishmongers in Deal will be relocating to the town’s high street.