News, May 2010

Fire at Homebase, The Junction, South Aylesford

The Junction has confirmed the cause of the fire which broke out in the Homebase unit on 1st May 2010 at the Junction Retail Park in South Aylesford was arson. The police are investigating a series of attacks on retail units in Kent which damaged both the Homebase and Carpetright units. One man has been arrested for the nearby incident at the B&Q store in Larkfield and police are looking at the forensic evidence to see whether these two incidents are linked. Detective superintendent Mick Judge, head of major and serious crime at Kent Police, said: "Members of staff should be commended for their swift actions in evacuating the Homebase store. Had this not been the case the outcome could have been very different. The fire has caused extensive damage but thankfully no-one has been hurt."

Jo Francis, commented "The Junction team worked swiftly with the retailers to evacuate shoppers and staff and to contact the fire brigade and police, and we are pleased to report that no-one was injured. The other retailers at the park are now trading as usual and we have relocated Carpetright to another unit on site to ensure minimum disruption to trade. Once the police have completed their investigations, the Junction will undertake repair works to re-open the affected units as soon as possible."