Following a two-year wait, a retaining wall on Listmas Road in Chatham has finally been reconstructed, bringing a sigh of relief to many frustrated local residents. The boundary wall of the Magpie Community Centre unexpectedly collapsed on January 7, 2016, at approximately 9:20pm, sending a huge amount of rubble and earth plunging onto the pavement and carriageway below. Emergency services were called at 9:40pm, with Kent Fire & Rescue crews spending hours assessing the damage at the scene. The wall was around 3 metres in height. Two mini-buses and a car were significantly damaged, although thankfully, no injuries or fatalities were reported as a result of the incident. Repair work was undertaken by a general buildings contractors firm appointed by the Diocese of Rochester, with work commencing on February 12, 2018, and completed in late May 2018. The reconstructed section of the retaining wall consists of new interlocking concrete blocks behind a front-facing panel of brickwork, restoring the appearance of the wall and providing a strengthened structure. A light weight granular backfill has also been used as opposed to soil, in order to reduce the pressure on the wall, while sub-soil weepholes at regular intervals ensure that excess water is drained out sufficiently. New wooden fencing has also been installed to secure the perimeter of the premises, and the footpath below has been resurfaced with newly-laid tarmac due to previous damage caused by the collapsed rubble and roots of the overgrown vegetation.
It is thought that the repair work was delayed due to difficulties in determining who had legal responsibility to carry out the work and who actually owned the wall. However, Diocese of Rochester selected civil engineering consultancy, Evans & Langford, to produce a specification for the repair work. The planning proposal was published in early July 2017, and then later approved by Medway Council on August 1, 2017. Parking is no longer suspended along Listmas Road between the junctions of Magpie Hall Road and Henry Street, and public access to the southern footpath by the wall has been re-opened. |
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August 2023
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