Hoardings could surround a shopping centre site for up to five years after a council approved its own demolition plans.

Eleven out of 13 members on Ashford Borough Council (ABC)’s planning committee voted to flatten Park Mall last night - nine months after the proposal was initially put forward.

A new 200-space interim car park will replace the centre - which was built in 1987 - with both Edinburgh Road and Park Mall car parks also making way.

A “residential-led, mixed-use development” is earmarked for the land in later years, and ABC expects demolition to be carried out next year.

A five-year limit has been placed on permission for the hoardings and the interim car park, and ABC says it is seeking a “development partner” to take on the longer-term residential plans for the site.

But

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