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Final closing dates for Debenhams in Ashford, Folkestone, Chatham and Canterbury revealed
16:31, 01 January 2020
updated: 16:33, 01 January 2020
The final closing down dates for four huge Kent department stores have been revealed.
Debenhams in Ashford, Folkestone, Chatham and Canterbury will all cease trading this month.
It was previously reported each store would shut on Friday, January 24, with the keys being handed back to the landlords that day.
But now new dates have emerged, meaning all four will shut earlier than expected.
The stores in Folkestone, Ashford and Canterbury - all found in prime town centre spots - will close on Sunday, January 19.
Chatham's High Street shop will close on Wednesday, January 15.
After this, the only Debenhams left in the county will be found at Westwood Cross shopping centre in Broadstairs and in Gravesend.
The four Kent stores are among 22 outlets to be axed across the country.
News of their imminent closures was first revealed in April, as part of debt restructuring plans.
Then in October, signs advertising closing down sales appeared in shop windows.
Debenhams' departure from the town centres will leave huge holes in the retail offering.
But plans to replace some of the empty units have already emerged.
In Canterbury, bold £25 million plans to regenerate the prominent city centre site into new retail outlets and flats are due to be considered by the council.
Cinema plans have emerged for the Folkestone store, and rumours of a Primark setting up in the Ashford site have also circulated.
The future of the soon-to-be vacant Chatham unit is unknown.
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