Plans to redevelop Chatham's former Trafalgar Centre into a mixed-use scheme have been submitted. The disused shopping centre in the High Street is earmarked to make way for 200 flats, creative arts studios and co-working offices. These will be delivered across three blocks, one of which is set to reach 11 storeys high and another directly fronting the High Street would be 6 storeys high - which has drawn criticism from local stakeholders. A letter of representation submitted by Kent County Council's heritage conservation department determined "the proposed development has the potential to impact a range of heritage assets including the townscape character of Chatham." It also highlighted that the scheme could "diminish the visual prominence" of the Naval War Memorial on the Great Lines, which may "cause harm to its significance." The letter noted that the area was mostly low-rise containing two and three-storey buildings and emphasised that "it is not clear how, if at all, the present scheme has responded to local character." An objection from a local resident also argued that the views of the memorial are "very important to the character of Chatham." Aylesford-based Terance Butler Holdings (TBH) are behind the proposals, after it purchased the empty shopping centre and the multi-storey car park in Rhode Street for £2.87 million in June 2020.
NCP quit from its lease of the 261-space car park in September last year. As part of the plans, 191 of these spaces will be retained with 98 permits available to residents. The Trafalgar Centre has stood empty since its closure in 2013. The 50,000 sq ft property was initially built in the 1960s as a Fine Fare supermarket before closing in 1987 to later become the InShops complex, containing small independent traders. It was earmarked to be redeveloped into "new, high quality boutique shops" in 2010, although those plans never materialised. You can view and comment on the planning application by clicking here. Medway's largest toys and gifts shop D&A Toys is on the move in its 45th anniversary year. The long-running retailer is opening a new store on the ground floor of the Pentagon Centre in Chatham, opposite Card Factory. It is earmarked to open in "around 6 weeks", although an exact date is not known, according to a spokesperson for the Pentagon Centre. Its current store on the first floor is part of redevelopment plans for the council-owned shopping centre. The first floor of the Pentagon is set to become a healthy living centre and an innovation hub, which will be funded by a £9.5 million grant from the government's Future High Streets Fund. The £9.5m grant will also be spent on delivering a co-working space, conference and events hub in St John's Church in Railway Street, and improving the area around Mountbatten House which the council is converting into 164 flats having recently purchased it. All of these projects are set to be completed by March 2024. A closing down sale is now underway while the new shop is fitted out.
D&A Toys is moving into a unit previously occupied by Carphone Warehouse, which closed in spring 2020 after a decision by the company to shut all 531 of its standalone branches in the UK. The nationwide store closures led to 2,900 job losses. A popular buffet restaurant in Chatham High Street has announced the date for its long-awaited reopening. Spoon World Buffet is set to reopen on Tuesday, 8 February at 5pm after nearly two years of closure. It initially shut in March 2020 due to the first Covid-19 lockdown and then remained closed for a makeover, which includes a new layout and furnishing. Bosses at the buffet restaurant are urging customers to book a reservation in advance "to avoid disappointment".
However, it will not be open for lunch until further notice. A statement released by Spoon World Buffet said: "We are looking forward to welcoming you all back in to our restaurant." The popular eatery serves various dishes including Chinese, Indian, sushi, teppanyaki and roast grill. It will be open 5pm to 10pm Monday to Thursday, 5pm to 11pm on Fridays, 12pm to 11pm on Saturdays, and 12pm to 10pm on Saturdays and bank holidays. Medway Council has set out plans to acquire Chatham's empty Debenhams store, according to a report due to be presented at next week's Cabinet meeting. The council will consider using a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) to obtain the former department store in Chatham High Street, which has stood empty since closing in January 2020. It revealed that attempts to negotiate with the current owners of the building have so far proved "unsuccessful". Initial plans for the Debenhams building could see it become 76 flats and over 1,000 square metres of commercial space. The building was sold to Gatsby Chatham Ltd, a subsidiary of international property firm Kennedy Wilson, for just over £16.6 million in 2015. Just weeks before the closure of Debenhams in 2020, Future Chatham revealed that neither Medway Council or its housebuilding firm, Medway Development Company, had any plans to redevelop the building. In July 2021, Medway Council undertook a valuation of the property, which calculated an amount that remains undisclosed to the public. An offer was made to the owners based on the valuation, however, no response has been received yet by the council. Council officers then sought to use the possibility of a CPO as an "incentive in negotiations" and set a deadline for a response by the end of November, although this was unsuccessful. Cabinet members will now determine whether to acquire the Debenhams building by way of a CPO at a meeting next Tuesday (8 February), should agreement not be reached to acquire it on "reasonable terms".
The report says: "Officers are of the view that there is a compelling case in the public interest for making a compulsory purchase order. "The purpose for which the building is to be compulsorily acquired is likely to improve the economic well-being of the area by unlocking the site for development and regeneration as well as a major improvement to the public realm at Chatham Town Centre." The cost of the potential CPO will be covered by some of the £9.5 million grant from the government's Future High Street Fund - although a precise figure has not been revealed. The £9.5m grant will also be spent on delivering a healthy living centre and innovation hub in the council-owned Pentagon Centre, a co-working space, conference and events hub in St John's Church in Railway Street, and improving the area around Mountbatten House which the council is converting into 164 flats having recently purchased it. All of these projects are set to be completed by March 2024. The former Debenhams building was originally built in 1979 as an Allders department store. Allders went into administration in 2005, with Debenhams taking over the prominent building in the High Street in April of that year. The closure of Chatham's Debenhams branch was announced in April 2019, when the retailer marked it out as one of 21 other locations across the country to be axed as part of cost-cutting measures to make the business "fit for the future" - although Debenhams, too, vanished from Britain's high streets after 243 years of trading. |
Archive
August 2023
|