John Lewis stores in Ashford, Tunbridge Wells and Bluewater wait on news of closure threat
|
Updated: 09:10, 11 March 2021
A question mark hangs over the future of major John Lewis stores in the county after the chain revealed it was looking at closing more of its shops as a result of the impact of the pandemic.
Describing the last year as one of the most challenging in its history, it said it did not expect to reopen all our John Lewis shops at the end of lockdown .
Ashford s John Lewis at Home store
There are John Lewis at Home stores in Ashford and Tunbridge Wells as well as a major store at Bluewater.
Anger over plans to turn former Barretts showroom in Canterbury into student reception area instead of shops or restaurant
|
Updated: 10:41, 10 March 2021
Developers have u-turned on plans to open shops or a restaurant in a prime Canterbury city centre retail spot - and instead want to build a reception area for new student flats.
Business leaders have blasted the proposals for the former Barretts showroom, stressing that the site at the lower end of the high street is a âgatewayâ to the city and should therefore be protected for retail use.
The old showroom is in a prime high street spot
Deal Bridal Boutique s Instagram hacked and held to ransom
|
Updated: 16:10, 10 March 2021
A boutique owner has warned other shop owners to be wary after her business s social media was hacked and held to ransom.
The Bridal Boutique of Jules in Deal was looking forward to announcing its reopening when its Instagram account was invaded by a third party.
The shop s owner Jeska McGeehan said that she first realised something was wrong when she started getting odd messages on her account, just a day before Boris Johnson announced the plans to relax lockdown restrictions.
She said: It started on the Sunday afternoon before Boris s announcement, I started to get really strange activity, I m obviously on there quite a bit and I kept noticing these random messages from people I didn t know with various codes, that I kept deleting and ignoring.
Kent Business Investors Ltd acquire Ashford-based indEx Enclosures
|
A private investment company has snapped up a company in Ashford.
IndEx Enclosures, which manufactures hazardous area control products at its site on the Henwood Industrial Estate, has been acquired by Kent Business Investors Ltd.
Alex Pawle, Richard Gipp, Stephane Leduc as takeover on indEx is completed
Last year, the investors - Alex Pawle and Stephane Leduc - snapped up precision engineering company Pegasus Precision, also based in Ashford, in a multi-million pound deal.
IndEx, founded by Richard Gipp and Daniel Baker in 2010, currently serves around 220 active clients, mainly in the UK.
Tonbridge market re-opens at Sovereign Way in April
|
Updated: 09:19, 08 March 2021
A deal to provide the Tonbridge Saturday market with a new home has been agreed by its operators and the borough council.
The open-air market, which has been operating since the 1960s, will move to a council-owned car park next to Sainsburyâs in Sovereign Way.
Tonbridge market is set to return in April
Recent years have seen a steady decline in footfall to the market in its current location at the townâs railway station car park while works were carried out by Network Rail.
The market traders sought help from Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council to identify a more central position with easier access for customers.