A refurbishment project of Chatham's iconic waterfront pier has been completed following weeks of extensive work by contractors. The refurbishment of Sun Pier was externally funded through the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) and the Local Growth Fund (LGF) - a funding stream that is specifically for infrastructure and public realm. The Sun Pier project has a budget of circa £160,000 and included the partial replacement of the decking where needed, stripping and repainting the surface metalwork, replacement of the wooden handrail, new benches and a new lighting scheme to match the works on Pier Chambers and the wider river walk. Picture Credit: Jetstream Tours The Pier and the new pontoon are a key part of attracting positive use and interaction with the river, creating a safer and more engaging destination. The river walk improvements carried out by the Council in the last year that included resurfacing, new guardrail and a lighting scheme to a high quality specification have already changed how the area is used and significantly reduced the number of drinkers and anti-social behaviour. Improvements to the Northern footpath on Medway Street running along Staples also took place last year, including new high-quality paving and the reconfiguration of the kerbline, and the removal of the redundant parking bays of the demolished shops.
Chatham Regeneration Manager, Sunny Ee, commented: "The refurbishment of the Pier combined with the gateway feature on the junction of Pier Chambers and Medway Street will draw down residents and visitors to one of Chatham town centre’s greatest assets; the River Medway." The improvements over the past year also aim to provide a clearer and more direct link between the riverside and the core town centre shopping area, as well as enhancing the pedestrian experience for residents and visitors. National outdoor goods retail chain GO Outdoors has opened the doors to their 55th store in Chatham town centre on March 26, 2016, creating 60 jobs for local people. GO Outdoors has now opened their new store in The Brook, Chatham in the space of the former Tesco building. Hundreds of people attended the opening event in the morning, with EastEnders actor Ross Kempton cutting the ribbon to the doors of the new store. Customers were also able to take pictures with him and ask him questions. The new shop will sell clothing and equipment for a range of activities including camping, walking, climbing, riding, fishing, skiing and running. It is one of the chain's new cycling concept stores, with huge range of bikes for all abilities and cycling workshops with trained enthusiasts. GO Outdoors is offering a special discount of 15% off everything in store and a free discount card worth £5 over the weekend as part of the opening celebrations. The store opening announcement was revealed in late November last year, when a business website published a news article about the topic. Rumours began to circulate on social media until a GO Outdoors spokesperson officially confirmed that a new branch will be opening at this location in early 2016.
Significant alterations were made to the building prior to the opening, with the cladding exterior painted in blue, a new trolley area created under the former sheltered walkway, and a new customer entrance to the store. The interior has also been given a makeover, with changes to the store floor layout, new carpet tiles laid throughout the store, and a general facelift to improve the building. We welcome the opening of GO Outdoors as another addition to the wide variety of shops Chatham has to offer. It is also hoped that this will act as a catalyst for more big names to move into the town, since the closure of several stores over the past decade and aid in the large-scale regeneration programme that Medway Council are pursuing to achieve. mhs homes completed the first of three phases of a regeneration project in the Brook area of Chatham town centre last week. A total of 19 new affordable rented homes have been completed with a mixture of two bedroom houses and one and two bedroom apartments. The contemporary development replaces seven post-war prefabricated 'spaceway' bungalows and a block of flats with new modern and spacious accomodation. Picture Credit: mhs homes As part of a £12 million investment in the area, mhs homes are also building new homes on the site of a former garage site off Upbury Way, and on Cross Street. The Great Lines Mews on Upbury Way is a boutique collection of five one and two bedroom apartments for affordable rent and three two bedroom houses for shared ownership. This phase will feature green living roofs to soften the view of the development from the Great Lines Heritage Park.
The final phase of the regeneration programme in the area is now well underway, with demolition of a former sheltered scheme currently taking place in Cross Street. The development at this location will deliver 50 new stylish apartments, at a prime location with fantastic access to the town centre. This phase - being the largest of the three - will bring the total number of new homes across the Brook area to 77 units. The new homes at Eldon Street were built by Chartway Group, and bptw partnership was the architect for all three schemes. The regeneration project commenced thanks to over £300,000 of grant funding from the Homes and Communities Agency. Europe's largest footwear retailer is set to move into the former WHSmith unit in the Pentagon Shopping Centre in Chatham next month. Deichmann has confirmed that a new store will be opening on April 27, 2016, in the local shopping centre - one of the latest additions to the wide retail variety in the town centre, with GO Outdoors opening on March 26. It has been revealed by a Deichmann spokesperson that 12 new jobs will be created at the new store, and they are still currently recruiting for staff members. The new 406 m² store will also be offering selected styles at 50% in the opening week only.
WHSmith shut the doors of its Chatham store on April 15, 2015, due to being 'unable to trade viably because of the forthcoming lease expiry.' The store closure was confronted with shock from local residents, just shortly after Tesco shut its superstore on The Brook. |
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