A large collision repair company has shut down its site in New Road, Chatham. Nationwide Crash Repair Centres, including its parent firm Nationwide Accident Repair Services and other subsidiaries, fell into administration in September last year leading to the loss of 540 jobs. The company faced rapidly declining revenue due to reduced volumes from some of its biggest customers alongside the implications of lower road traffic during the Covid-19 lockdowns. After Price Waterhouse Coopers was appointed as administrators, the majority of Nationwide Accident Repair's business and assets were sold to rival FMG Repair Services, including the two Chatham repair centres in New Road and Second Avenue. However, FMG Repair Services has since ceased operations at the New Road premises and it now stands empty, sources confirm. It is unclear as to what the future plans are for the former car repair centre, although some local residents suggest it could make an ideal extension to New Road Primary School and Nursery, which sits next to it.
The repair centre in Second Avenue continues to operate as usual under FMG Repair Services' ownership. Nationwide Accident Repair Services repaired cars for large UK insurance firms, including Admiral, Allianz and Direct Line. Before falling into administration, it employed nearly 2,900 people across more than 100 sites, making it the UK's largest collision repair company at the time. Attempts to contact FMG Repair Services were made, however, no response was received. Medway Council is rolling out 34 electric vehicle charging points across the Towns this summer. The charging points will be the first to be installed in Council-owned car parks. They will be placed in three locations across Medway:
Medway Council has already confirmed plans to install more in other car parks in the coming years, as part of its commitment to reducing carbon emissions. "Installing public charging points for electric vehicles supports out aspiration to become carbon neutral in Medway by 2050." Cllr Howard Doe, Deputy Leader of Medway Council, who is leading on Medway’s Climate Change project, said: “We’re committed to helping people who live, work and visit Medway cut their carbon emissions and installing public charging points for electric vehicles supports our aspiration to become carbon neutral in Medway by 2050.
"There are a number of small changes that we can all make in our daily lives which will have a big difference to our climate including recycling, using public transport and, if you’re thinking of getting a new car, switching to an electric vehicle." The first phase of electric charging points is being funded by £85,420 from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV). British charging specialist Connected Kerb will be carrying out the works which started in all three car parks at the end of June and are expected to be completed later this year. Residents can suggest a location for an on-street electric vehicle charging point on the Medway Council website. Another charity shop in Chatham High Street has closed down, after not-for-profit organisation Emmaus Medway collapsed. The shop, which sold furniture and household goods, permanently shut its doors on Wednesday, 23 June. It follow the recent closures of Age UK and PDSA's charity shops in the High Street. A report seen by Future Chatham says that Emmaus Medway had "no alternative but to wind down its operations" due to the lease on its premises expiring and no suitable alternative being identified. Emmaus Medway was based at Cherry Tree House in Prospect Row, Chatham on a lease from mhs homes. However, the premises is understood to be "coming towards the end of its life" and the charity was served notice to vacate. The charity was unable to find a suitable alternative premises for its operations, contributing to its decision to shut.
A spokesperson for Emmaus Medway said: "Emmaus Medway have known for some time that Cherry Tree House was not their long term home and in February 2020 took the decision to look for new accommodation; then the pandemic hit and opportunities for development work disappeared. "The Trustees took the very hard decision to close the organisation at the end of December 2020, following a difficult year financially giving time to rehouse all the Companions." Since opening in 2011, Emmaus Medway - part of the national Emmaus network - supported over 500 people facing homelessness and social exclusion, which it refers to as Companions. Many of the Companions benefitted from work experience by volunteering in one of the Emmaus Medway shops or in other local social enterprises, while addressing their accommodation needs. In addition to the store in Chatham High Street, the charity had shops in Rochester High Street and Sittingbourne, which closed in 2018 and 2020 respectively. It is understood that all Companions who were living at Emmaus Medway when it closed have been supported to move to new local accommodation, or to relocate to another Emmaus community in the UK. All remaining staff, of which there are 4, have been made redundant with one having secured a new role elsewhere. The other 29 Emmaus charities across the UK continue to operate as normal. Santander has shut its branch at Hempstead Valley in Gillingham as part of nationwide closures this year. The bank closed its doors for the final time on Thursday, 24 June. Its departure has been described by local residents as the 'end of an era' since the bank had been at the shopping centre for 41 years, having first opened in 1980 as Abbey National. The announcement of its closure in March was part of a decision by Santander to shut 111 of its branches across the country this year, affecting about 840 staff. In a statement, the bank says it took the "difficult decision" to close the branch because fewer customers were choosing to bank in-branch, due to a shift to mobile and online banking which has further accelerated during the pandemic.
Adam Bishop, head of branches at Santander, said: "Our customers are continuing to change the way they manage their money. As well as using our branches, many more of our customers find it convenient to do their day-to-day banking using Online, Mobile or Telephone Banking. "Due to these changes, we have carefully and thoroughly reviewed the way we develop our services for customers and considered many factors, including where each of our branches are located and how they are used," he added. It is not known how many jobs have been lost at the Hempstead Valley branch. The only remaining Santander in Medway is now the branch in Chatham High Street. |
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