A complex environmental issue is holding up multi-million pound developments at two of the most prominent retail sites in Canterbury, leaving a huge gap in the high street and many surrounding shops falling by the wayside.

Here, we investigate how the frustrating delays are hurting smaller businesses...

The heart of Canterbury city centre should be a thriving retail hub, drawing in shoppers from across the county and further afield.

Yet with the huge sites of the former Debenhams and Nasons stores still empty, years after closing, a drop in footfall has left surrounding traders struggling – and in some cases failing – to make ends meet.

Guildhall Street, Sun Street, Mercery Lane and the high street are littered with vacant shops, with our reporter counting 15 on just a short walk around the old Debenhams site.

Cath Kidston, Yo! Sushi and Cotswolds are among the numerous firms to have bowed out of the area in recent times, with their former homes still depressingly bare.

And with long-running planning issues leaving question marks hanging over the future of the Debenhams and Nasons sites, smaller traders are concerned.

Mercery Lane – one of Kent’s most photographed and prettiest streets – has endured a retail downturn since Debenhams shut at the start of 2020.

And another shop soon to vacate the street will be the tourist store Little London, which has been run by Najeem Afzle for the past 12 years.

He says the closure of the national department store has played a major role in the slump in trade, turning the area into a retail ghost town.

“It’s killed the business around here,” Mr Afzle said.

“All the Debenhams customers used to come right out of the doors opposite my shop and come inside here straight away.

“But now all that has gone. Everyone has been impacted.

“It’s two years since it shut and I haven’t got any business in here, and then with Covid, things get worse and worse.

“Another big company, Cath Kidston, was along here too, but it’s now closed.

“Subway used to be here and was very, very busy – but that’s also gone and not been replaced.

“On this street you can see how many shops are empty.

“It’s meant to be the busiest area in Canterbury, but there are no shops here.

“I’ll be closing down soon. My lease has expired so I’m now just here temporarily and will be gone soon.”

Steve and Mary Hamblen, who have run Roly’s Fudge Pantry in Mercery Lane for two years, say the loss of the Debenhams has also impacted them, but they say there are signs of improvement.

“We’re on the route down to the cathedral so that really helps, and we’ve seen footfall being a lot better recently,” they said.

“Debenhams being gone probably has affected things as it did bring customers in, but there are signs it is picking up.

“The more shops that can open down here, the better.”

Another Mercery Lane tourist shop, Historical Canterbury, has had its shutters down for weeks and it is not known if it will reopen, while its neighbour Vape Chaos is also empty.

The unit is, however, planned to be occupied by the city’s first-ever ‘cat cafe’, where customers will be able have a coffee in the company of more than a dozen moggies.

Exiting Mercery Lane, shoppers are immediately hit with yet more empty shops at the top end of Sun Street in the Buttermarket.

The former Number 12 tearooms, Yo! Sushi and Britannia Gifts remain empty.

But Lost Sheep Coffee, which has a hut by the bus station outside Whitefriars, is due to soon take up residence in the latter.

Once past the three vacant units, the right-hand side of Sun Street evolves into a well-occupied thoroughfare which has benefited from a host of recent arrivals including Shoe Med, Chuck and Blade Burgers, and Record Store.

But while Sun Street is abuzz with new businesses, most of the adjoining Guildhall Street is barren.

The former Cotswolds unit is an expanse of unfilled space, while the city’s biggest white elephant, Debenhams, stands vacant on both sides of the road.

The neighbouring Costa cafe on the junction of the high street has also been a vacant shell for the past month, rounding off a mostly deserted street, which has Oscar & Bentley’s and the Drapers Arms as the only occupants.

Costa is, however, due to soon be occupied by pizza chain Franco Manca, which is to open its first Kent store.

In the high street, two units backing into Debenhams – the former Jigsaw store and Thomas Cook – remain vacant, while opposite, Nasons and the former Sta Travel site are also empty.

There are plans to breathe new life into the huge sites once home to Nasons and Debenhams, yet progress has been slow and continually stalled.

It is hoped a £30 million project will see the Nasons building – which extends across one acre – developed into a retail arcade, with covered market hall, offices, 33 flats and 32 serviced apartments for long and short-term stays.

But a complex environmental issue involving water pollution at the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve has put the brakes on the scheme. Waste water discharges from existing housing developments have been filtering into the River Stour’s catchment area, causing eutrophication – a process which causes pollution and promotes excessive algae growth.

Solutions to the issue are being sought, but in the meantime, the Nasons plan, which goes by the name Biggleston Yard, has been put on hold.

Canterbury City Council leader Cllr Ben Fitter-Harding said: “It’s being held up due to the Stodmarsh nutrient issues, and the council and other partners are doing everything that they can to help mitigate this.

“Ultimately, government intervention is needed to accelerate the upgrading of Southern Water’s waste water treatment plant.”

Meanwhile, proposals to open 74 flats in the upper floors of Debenhams are also on hold due to the pollution troubles.

The retail aspect of the site is not dependent on the Stodmarsh issue, yet it too shows little sign of becoming a reality any time soon.

Newly-formed department chain 15:17, which has two existing stores in the UK, has plans to open across four floors of the Debenhams site.

A mix of retail and entertainment is promised, with an artisan food hall, beauty, fashion and homeware concessions, crazy golf and axe-throwing attractions all in the redevelopment plan.

Following the completion of repair work, 15:17 was planning to open this September, but the unit remains vacant.

KentOnline understands the company’s head of design and property, who was playing a key role in the project, has been made redundant. Meanwhile, the firm has not responded to our approach for further information.

Prof Richard Scase, a business expert in economic trends, fears the city could face a “very depressing future” if it fails to fill the void left by Debenhams.

“The major draw for Canterbury has been the mid-market range, and when they close down – which they have done – it can be very worrying,” he said.

“You can put a gloss over it, saying the city is bouncing back and thriving, but you need to be truthful.

“Thankfully, Canterbury can rely on the cathedral, and that is the saving grace, but if Fenwick or Marks & Spencer were to go, then you’ve really got problems.

“Unless it can attract big national retailers to bring in people there could be a very depressing future.

“And personally, I can’t see that happening as the big name mid-market retailers are going online.”

Cllr Fitter-Harding is more confident for the future, pinning his hopes on the eventual occupation of the Debenhams and Nasons stores.

Both of the prime sites are due to be redeveloped, yet progress has ground to a halt and they remain empty.

He said: “There’s no doubt in my mind that the Nasons and Debenhams redevelopments are vital in terms of driving regeneration in the centre of Canterbury.

“These being closed will undoubtedly start to affect footfall, so it’s really important that the buildings don’t sit vacant for too long.

“Canterbury does, however, continue to offer a vibrant and diverse array of shops, restaurants, bars and experiences and I’ve been really encouraged to see the new arrivals that have opened since lockdown restrictions were lifted.”

Footfall in Canterbury has been rising since the easing of restrictions, yet monthly figures are still 120,000 below those seen in 2019.

In August this year, 902,000 people were recorded on the city’s high street, while there were 1.02 million in August two years ago.

Speaking to KentOnline last month, Lisa Carlson, chief executive of the Canterbury Business Improvement District (BID), said commercial interest in the city was “strong”.

But district Labour leader Cllr Dave Wilson believes the city needs to change what it has to offer to draw in more visitors.

He says the vacancy rate around the Debenhams and Nasons area needs to be addressed.

“This has been coming for some years and the council has failed to take adequate steps to find solutions, working with landlords and businesses,” Cllr Wilson said.

“The council’s regeneration committee needs to become pro-active and develop a strategy, working with landlords and the tourist industry.

“Key to that should be to differentiate what Canterbury has to offer. It can no longer rely on being a major retail centre for everyday shopping.

“There need to be shorter leases (pop-ups) in some units to allow new businesses to experiment and test their concept before moving into longer-term shops and restaurants.

“There needs to be clarity about which markets the city is serving. Local residents obviously have one set of needs. But tourists and out-of-town locals need something they cannot get online, at Ashford or at Westwood.

“That suggests that we need more specialist shops, more creative maker-spaces, and an effective publicity campaign to draw shoppers into the city. The Nasons development and the Debenhams site could provide some of that capacity.”

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