A restaurant and beauty salon at MidKent College, which were open to the public and manned by students for training, will not reopen after lockdown is lifted.

McLeods and PURE Hair and Beauty, both based at the Gillingham campus, have been hit financially due to closure during the pandemic.

Principal Simon Cook said: “Like many others in the service sectors, the financial impact of lockdowns on the operational budgets of these two businesses has been significant, and that’s ultimately why regrettably we’ve taken the decision that they won’t re-open at this time.

"We’ll be pausing to evaluate the best way forward to ensure that the college’s resources, including these fantastic spaces at the front of our Medway campus, are put to the best possible use to serve our students, local employers, and the community.”

The restaurant, led by a professional head chef and hospitality manager, catered for corporate events, including meetings and seminars.

Catering and hospitality students gained valuable work experience at the eatery with a view to getting a good job when they finished their course.

It was named after Sue McLeod, a former, much-loved and the first female principal of the college who died suddenly from a brain tumour at the age of 53.

The salon offered a range of hair, body and nail services as well as wedding packages for brides-to-be.

A total of five staff took redundancy, two from the restaurant and three from the salon. Another person has been redeployed to another role at the college.

A spokesman for MidKent, Steve Hyland, said the closures would not impact on students or "their learning experience".

He said: "We continue to offer hospitality and catering and hair and beauty courses in industry-standard training kitchens and salons that are not attached to PURE or McLeods."

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