Claire's has shut its store in the Pentagon Centre in Chatham. The accessories and jewellery retailer, which sells everything from make-up to hair accessories, has officially closed the branch to customers. Staff were seen today (Monday, 26 September) packing away stock and stripping the store empty. A handwritten notice has been placed on the shop window, which reads: "This store is no longer trading.
"Your closest store is now Chatham Outlet. Thank you." It's not currently known why the closure decision was made or the number of jobs that have been affected. The departure of Claire's follows the recent closure of the Coral betting shop in Military Road, which also forms part of the Pentagon Centre complex. The existing branches of Claire's at Dockside Outlet Centre, Chatham, and Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre, Gillingham, remain open as usual. Claire's has been approached for comment. Work to create step-free access at Chatham Railway Station has reached completion. Two new lifts and a footbridge have been installed, making step-free access directly from the ticket hall to the platforms possible for the first time. Passengers previously had to use a ramp outside in the station car park. The £5.8m project, delivered as part of the government's Access for All programme, also included new tactile paving, CCTV cameras and PA speakers on the platforms. It's hoped the improvements will make the station much easier to use for passengers with mobility issues, older people and parents with young children. Work started in May last year with the removal of the old footbridge and was due for completion in spring this year. However, an electrical fault and a snagging list pushed the opening of the lifts to August, according to railway operator Southeastern. The project made its mark by involving Europe’s largest single pour of an innovative new cement-free concrete.
The product, known as Cemfree, is an alternative to conventional concrete, which reduces carbon emissions by up to 80% during its production. It was also the first use of Cemfree on UK's railway network. The latest improvements follow the recent opening of the station's 280-space cycle parking hub. Contractor BAM Nuttall completed the accessibility improvements on behalf of Network Rail. |
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