Asda has finally started improving an eyesore town centre building blighted by vandalism after being hauled before a court by a council.

The supermarket giant was ordered by Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) to carry out works on the former Store Twenty One shop in Bouverie Place in 2023.

But the company failed to start the improvements, and pleaded guilty to failure to comply with the council’s order at Margate Magistrates’ Court in May.

The company began rerendering the exterior last month, and says it is “continuing to explore long-term options” for the site, which has stood empty since 2016.

Although Asda has never occupied the shop itself, it has been an anchor tenant at the nearby Bouverie Place shopping centre since 2007.

The New Folkestone Society - a charity which

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