A former Kent Debenhams department store - which now lies empty - could become home to a council’s offices.

The huge building in Sandgate Road, Folkestone, is already owned by Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC).

Plans for the local authority to move from its current base at the Civic Centre, in Castle Hill Avenue, are being considered as part of wider town centre redevelopment plans.

A report being put to the authority’s cabinet at a meeting tonight (Wednesday) will ask councillors to agree to “explore the potential for the council to relocate” to the site, which has been rebranded Folca following the closure of Debenhams.

Folca is at the centre of regeneration plans for the heart of the town - with £2,278,000 earmarked for the building’s refurbishment.

Last month FHDC discovered it had been awarded a £19.8 million share of government levelling-up cash to fund its plan - A Brighter Future - to breathe new life into Folkestone town centre.

The proposals would see the existing bus station in Bouverie Place relocated to make way for a public garden, and Sandgate Road itself would be given a makeover.

Among the projects outlined in the report to cabinet is refurbishment of the Art Deco portion of the Folca building for new uses “including as a potential ‘test lab’ for new businesses, as well as new retail and entertainment uses”.

The report states that “there is also potential for public sector uses to be located into Folca”.

If cabinet agrees to proceed, council officers will then be tasked with exploring the potential for moving council functions to Sandgate Road before a more detailed report is prepared.

A similar relocation to a more central retail district is taking place in Canterbury, where the city council is swapping offices at Military Road for a base at the Whitefriars shopping centre.

FHDC council leader Cllr David Monk (Con) said: “It’s early days but cabinet have been asked by officers to consider whether the council could locate from the Civic Centre into part of Folca.

“A council presence in the town centre has been discussed previously and any relocation will be subject to a future report to cabinet before a decision being made.”

Previously, the council discussed plans to move their offices to new garden town Otterpool Park.

Debenhams - formerly Bobby’s department store - closed in Folkestone in 2020, along with stores in Thanet and Ashford.

FHDC bought it for more than £2 million a few months later, and rebranded it Folca following a competition to find a new name. It was later used as a vaccination centre for Covid jabs, but is now empty.

The part of the shop on the corner of Sandgate Road and Bouverie Place is set to be torn down to make way for a new £16 million health centre.

However a survey carried out by the New Folkestone Society last year found significant support for saving this Edwardian portion of Folca from demolition.