Podcast: Canterbury city centre closed off as firefighters tackle huge blaze at former Debenhams

Canterbury city centre has been closed off after a fire broke out at an abandoned former department store. Firefighters have been working through the night at the site of the old Debenhams – one person has been treated for smoke inhalation. Also in today’s podcast, you can hear from a man who was fined for driving on a street where traffic is banned during term time even though the school was on holiday.He says he drove down the road in Chatham when the school was on half-term break and was shocked when he received the fine in the post. Two secondary schools could be closed by the government and reopened under new bosses after damning Ofsted inspections pushed them both into special measures.The sites were rated inadequate and have now been issued “termination warning notices”.Plans to turn an abandoned nightclub into flats have been scrapped as developers claim the housing market “isn’t particularly strong”.Bosses in Ashford had given the green light for the transformation of the old Liquid site into housing, but it’s been confirmed that’s no longer happening. And a work is well underway to transform a former Kent gaol into a bustling cafe. It’s all part of the £10.5 million renovation of Dover’s Maison Dieu – you can hear from one of the coordinators about what it will all look like when it’s finished.