A town centre charity shop has unexpectedly announced it will close just three years after opening.

Signs in the window confirm the YMCA store in Ashford’s County Square, next to Poundland, will close on Saturday, July 13.

The shop filled the former Brighthouse unit in June 2021 becoming the shopping centre’s first charity shop.

It was also the YMCA’s third shop in the town joining those already in Park Mall and Brookfield Court.

However, the site in Park Mall closed in summer 2022 due to “health and safety issues”.

All items, except electricals, have been reduced to £1 in a bid to clear out as much stock as possible.

YMCA claims to be the oldest and largest youth charity in the world and helps young people with a variety of needs across England and Wales.

But bosses at County Square say this is not the end as they are trying to find a suitable unit for the charity to relocate to.

A new tenant has already been lined up to fill the unit for when the charity moves out, although the details are yet to be confirmed.

Last month, bookshop Waterstones also left the centre with just a week’s notice after the firm announced plans to relocate within the town.

It remains unclear which unit the retailer will eventually take over, but it has been linked to the former Peacocks and Jobcentre units in County Square.

Specsavers has confirmed it is leaving its current base in County Square in favour of the now-vacant bookshop next to Superdrug.

The current unit used by the optician is across two floors but is moving to the new site so it can be more accessible across one floor.

A Specsavers spokeswoman confirmed its new store will open in October, although an exact date is yet to be announced.

Charity shop PDSA, which currently trades from New Rents, is earmarked to move into County Square although it is not clear when.

It is currently the last shop remaining in a row of six which will eventually be demolished to make way for a new 92-bed hotel.

Other recent closures at County Square include The Body Shop, which shut in February, and Peacocks, which left a month later.

Other losses in recent years have included Debenhams, M&S, River Island and H&M.

In March, KentOnline revealed how the centre’s multimillion-pound extension could be turned into 200 homes.

County Square’s owners put the site forward in a “call for sites” planning process led by Ashford Borough Council to identify suitable building plots.

It remains unclear exactly what the scheme will involve, but Q+A Planning Ltd, which put together the plan on behalf of the site’s owners, says it is “being promoted for a mixed-use development” that would take three years to complete.

The former Jobcentre unit is not set to be included in the scheme.

The YMCA and County Square have been approached for comment.