A Kent town will welcome its first ever Primark which will take over a huge former Debenhams store.<\/p>\n
The popular brand will fill the empty unit in County Square shopping centre, off Ashford high street, as well as the neighbouring vacant former Select store.<\/p>\n
Primark is to open at County Square shopping centre in Ashford<\/p>\n
It will be a major boost for the closure-hit mall, which in recent years has lost River Island, Peacocks, Claire\u2019s and The Body Shop.<\/p>\n
Bosses of the complex say Primark will open in the centre\u2019s extension, taking over the currently empty units in the second half of 2027.<\/p>\n
Once open, the long-awaited Primark will include 29,000 sq ft of floor space.<\/p>\n
It will become the branch\u2019s seventh chain in the county alongside others at Canterbury, Folkestone, Westwood Cross, Tunbridge Wells, Chatham and Gravesend.<\/p>\n
Primark will take on the units formerly home to Debenhams (pictured) and Select<\/p>\n
Primark\u2019s Kari Rodgers says the company is aware Ashford residents have been asking for a store for some time.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s UK Retail Director said: \u201cWe know there\u2019s been a lot of demand for us to bring Primark to Ashford, so we\u2019re pleased to confirm plans to open in County Square later next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the demand for great value clothing higher than ever, we\u2019re looking forward to bringing our offer to the town and becoming part of the local community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once open, Primark would span almost half of the upper oval of the centre.<\/p>\n
Although an official opening date is yet to be announced, project work will shortly commence to configure the unit so it is ready for fit-out.<\/p>\n
Select left County Square in Ashford in 2024<\/p>\n
Primark will join more than 45 stores in County Square, including other high street fashion brands New Look and Next.<\/p>\n
County Square\u2019s centre manager, Stacey Bell, added: \u201cWe are thrilled County Square will be the new home for Primark in Ashford.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe brand\u2019s arrival is a fantastic boost for the shopping centre, providing more choice of fashion, beauty and homeware for shoppers whilst supporting and creating jobs for our local community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working hard behind the scenes to transform the space ready for fit-out and opening next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe predict the new store will also attract shoppers to County Square from further afield and are confident Primark\u2019s opening and presence will strengthen our vibrant retail mix.<\/p>\n
ABC’s Heather Hayward<\/p>\n
\u201cThe highly anticipated announcement marks another chapter in County Square\u2019s rich history and our ongoing commitment to creating a destination shopping venue for the town centre.\u201d<\/p>\n
Debenhams, the centre\u2019s former flagship store, shut in January 2020, while Select closed its shutters four years later.<\/p>\n
The complex has also seen the departures of The Body Shop in 2024 and Smiggle in 2025, while KentOnline recently reported Costa Coffee is due to leave the mall today.<\/p>\n
Recent openings at the centre include Ramsdens and Shoe Zone.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Warhammer, Divine, Made in Ashford, East Kent Mobility and wedding dress shop Wed2B, all relocated to County Square ahead of the demolition of Park Mall.<\/p>\n
Ashford MP Sojan Joseph believes Primark’s arrival will help increase footfall in Ashford town centre<\/p>\n
MP for Ashford, Sojan Joseph, said: \u201cI warmly welcome Primark\u2019s announcement they will be opening a new store here in Ashford.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been working behind the scenes with Primark\u2019s team and the relevant local authorities to make sure this happens.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure it will increase footfall on our high street, create local jobs, and be real boost to our local economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashford Borough Council\u2019s (ABC) portfolio holder for the town centre, Cllr Heather Hayward (Ash Inds), says Primark\u2019s arrival has been years in the making.<\/p>\n
She told KentOnline: \u201cI am delighted to welcome Primark to Ashford and look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have for years to come.<\/p>\n
“The arrival of Primark in the town centre is fantastic news for our residents, visitors and local businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis investment is a major vote of confidence in Ashford’s future and will help strengthen us as a retail destination.<\/p>\n
\u201dThis achievement has not happened by chance. It is the result of considerable lobbying, partnership working and determination behind the scenes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to recognise the hard work of the County Square’s team, our local MP Sojan Joseph, and officers at ABC – all of whom have worked tirelessly over a number of years to help bring a retailer of Primark’s calibre to Ashford.<\/p>\n
\u201dPrimark’s arrival will increase footfall, create new employment opportunities and generate additional spending that will benefit businesses across the town centre.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Kent town will welcome its first ever Primark which will take over a huge former Debenhams store.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1034548,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[6],"tags":[605,51,2082,609,495,83509,69243,16,15],"class_list":["post-1034547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-ashford","tag-business","tag-consumer","tag-human-interest","tag-kent","tag-syndicate","tag-tenterden","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116771142308294182","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1034547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1034548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1034547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1034547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1034547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}