Work to revitalise a historic Georgian mansion in Rochester is well underway, thanks to government funding. Around £200,000 is being invested to bring the Grade II* listed building on the corner of Hulkes Lane, known as Chatham House, back to its former glory. The project involves reinstating a copy of the original porch and railings, which were removed in 1936 to create a modern shop front. New entrance steps will also be installed, while external repairs to the façade of the building will be made. Dating back to the 18th century, it was originally built as a mansion for the Hulkes and Arkcoll brewing families. It was later acquired by Featherstones Ltd in the early 1930s when it became home to the furniture, carpet and hardware departments of the historic family-run department store chain. A single-storey shopfront was built in the forecourt of Chatham House at this time, which saw the removal of original features including the railings, and demolished in 2003. Medway Council is working closely with Historic England and Featherstones Ltd to restore the front of the building. It forms the first stage of a long-term project to bring the building back into use and is also the first major capital project funded by the High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) programme, which runs until 2024. Future Chatham and Creatabot have been commissioned to run a reminiscence project and local residents are encouraged to send photographs and memories of the former Featherstones department stores to [email protected]. The photos and anecdotes received will be used to inspire further community projects and also be added to the collections at the Medway Archives Centre. "Medway is steeped in history, and I am pleased that we are working with Historic England to help preserve the future of one of our historic high streets." Leader of Medway Council, Cllr Alan Jarrett, said: “I am delighted that work has begun to restore the front of Chatham House.
"This exciting project is the first of many which will benefit from funding thanks to Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zone Programme. "Medway is steeped in history, and I am pleased that we are working with Historic England to help preserve the future of one of our historic high streets. I look forward to watching the works progress.” Sheila Featherstone said: “Featherstones are delighted to have this opportunity to work with Medway Council and Historic England to revitalise this wonderful building. "Four generations of the Featherstone family have been involved in the High Street, initially as retailers and latterly as custodians of significant historic buildings, providing workspace for a variety of small businesses. "Despite our best intentions we have not been able to restore them to their former glory due to financial constraints, thus Chatham House remains in its original form ready to be rediscovered and enjoyed." In 2020, Medway Council was awarded £1.6 million of government funding to revitalise a section of the Star Hill to Sun Pier Conservation Area, which covers parts of Chatham and Rochester high streets, as part of Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zone Programme. Find out more about the High Street Heritage Action Zone programme in Medway by clicking here. Argos has shut its long-standing branch in Chatham High Street, leaving the large site empty ahead of an uncertain future. The store closed for the final time on Wednesday, 26 January after more than three decades of trading. Shoppers have called the closure of Argos an 'end of an era', marking a gloomy departure of yet another retail giant from Chatham town centre. Major shop closures in recent years include Debenhams and Go Outdoors closing in 2020 and Tesco calling it quits in 2015. The closure of Argos coincides with the completion of its new warehouse and distribution centre at the £24 million M2CityLink industrial park on Medway City Estate. Sainsbury's, which bought Argos in 2016, is axing 420 standalone Argos stores by March 2024 as part of a restructuring plan to save £105 million. This will leave only about 100 standalone Argos branches across the country, with more stores opening within existing Sainsbury's supermarkets instead. Despite the closure of Chatham's Argos branch, a new click and collect point is due to open at Sainsbury's in the Pentagon Centre. This will be open 8am to 7pm weekdays, 8am to 6pm on Saturdays and 10am to 4pm on Sundays. The Argos at Strood Retail Park also remains open as usual. Argos declined to reveal the number of redundancies that have been made, but it did confirm that staff were offered opportunities to redeploy to alternative roles within Sainsbury’s. It is understood that some of the staff have been redeployed to the new Medway City Estate distribution centre, including the delivery drivers. Argos occupies a 1960s building that was initially occupied by an Edward Bates department store and a Sainsbury's supermarket.
In February 1976, Sainsbury's relocated to its new store inside the Pentagon Centre, closing the nearby branch in the High Street. In 1979, Edward Bates was sold to the Bentalls department store group, which took over the entire building. Bentalls occupied the building until 1984, with Argos moving in shortly after. Plans for the future of the site are unknown at this time. Medway Council's masterplan for Chatham town centre from 2019 suggests the site could make way for a residential development, with a 'possible' delivery frame stretching between 2025 and 2030. Foodies are counting down the days until a popular buffet restaurant in Chatham High Street reopens. Spoon World Buffet and Bar has undergone a revamp, including new furniture and a reorganised layout. The multi-cuisine restaurant has been closed for nearly two years, initially shutting in March 2020 due to the first Covid-19 lockdown and then remained closed for the makeover. Posters have recently appeared on the windows suggesting that it is set to reopen 'soon', with refurbishment works reaching completion inside.
The exact reopening date is yet to be announced. Spoon World Buffet and Bar specialises in Chinese, Indian, sushi, teppanyaki and roast grill dishes among several others in its offering. Future Chatham approached Spoon for comment but did not receive a response. Fast food chain KFC has swung open the doors to its second branch in Chatham.
The fried chicken eatery occupies the former Chimichanga restaurant, which has sat empty for a number of years opposite the Dockside Outlet Centre. Customers can place orders with dine-in, delivery and click & collect options available now. A KFC spokesperson said that over 20 new jobs have been created for the local area. The company's latest opening comes a year after the closure of its long-standing branch in Chatham High Street. It already has a branch at Horsted Retail Park, which opened in June 2020. KFC's branch at Chatham Dockside is open 12pm to 9pm seven days a week. |
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August 2023
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