A popular school uniform shop in Chatham town centre is set to close and relocate. School Time is opening a new store at the site of the former Penguin Suits shop in the High Street, near B&M. The move from its current home in Railway Street is planned to happen by the end of April. While a specific opening date has not yet been announced, its existing store will remain open as usual in the meantime. School Time director Diane Bathe launched the business in 1991 with her friend, starting with uniform for the school their children attended. Just three years later, School Time won the Medway Retailer of the Year award in 1994. The business partners then went on to open their shop in 1995 after the school wear firm Kinch & Lack went into liquidation. Commenting on the relocation, Diane said: "We are having to relocate due to redevelopment but are looking forward to new beginnings. "We are hoping for as less disruption as possible in the final stages of the move." School Time now stocks uniform for over 40 schools, including Strood Academy and Fort Pitt Grammar School, as well as dance wear and supplies for Rainbows, Brownies and Guides groups. Alongside School Time, Diane also runs an in-house embroidery service. Diane explained: "My Business partner retired in 2018 and my daughter was working for us so she became the Manager and now helps me run the business. "In 1996 we purchased an industrial Embroidery Machine and started embroidering our own garments. "We then purchased more Machines over time and now have 6 machines plus 2 Printers and a Vinyl cutter and set up a subsidiary business called Medway Embroidery doing printing and Embroidery." The embroidery firm now has a large customer base of businesses placing orders for work wear and corporate wear. The prominent building on the corner of Medway Street and the High Street was occupied by family-run tailors Penguin Suits since 1985, until it closed last year.
Before that it was a Midland Bank branch, which has since become part of HSBC. Estate agents Sibley Pares put the empty store on the market last June for an annual rent of £25,500. A once-popular pub in Chatham's Luton area could become flats, according to a fresh planning application. Plans have been put forward to turn the former Hen and Chicks pub in Luton High Street into six flats. It involves building a side extension and installing new dormer windows to create five two-bedroom flats and a single one-bedroom flat. Several plans for the Hens and Chicks have surfaced since its closure in 2019. The 1702-built property was earmarked to become a Turkish restaurant and then later a halal butchers, although neither materialised and it continues to sit empty. Originally a farmhouse, the Hen and Chicks was converted into an ale house in 1746. It was frequented by brickmakers and agricultural workers from the surrounding area, benefitting from a central location in what was the village of Luton. As Chatham grew in size, the pub, formally called the Hen and Chickens, was popular among locals as it became a hub for Luton’s community activities and entertainment.
After its closure the pub's freehold was put on the market by estate agents Drake & Company in 2019, with offers in the region of £250,000 accepted. The pub was eventually sold for £252,000 in February last year. Medway Council is due to make a decision on the plans by Monday, 1 May. View and comment on the planning application by clicking here. Greeting cards chain Clintons is shutting its store in Chatham's Pentagon Centre.
No exact closing date has been announced yet, although it's earmarked to shut by 25 April. The store's lease is currently being marketed by estate agents Jamieson Mills for an annual rent of £70,000. It follows the recent closure of another store in the shopping centre, which saw Yours Clothing suddenly shut in January. A spokesperson for Jamieson Mills said: "The tenant has indicated to us that they do not wish to renew their lease at expiry, hence as a proactive approach we have commenced marketing to secure an alternative occupier." Clintons has faced long-running business troubles, falling into administration in 2012, when 350 stores closed, and again in 2019. Last year, Clintons permanently closed three of its shops in Dorchester, Ayr and Market Harborough, with two further stores in Bolton and Whitehaven shutting this month. The nearest alternative branch is located at Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre in Gillingham, which is understood to remain open as usual. Clintons was approached for comment but Future Chatham did not receive a response. |
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August 2023
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