 The new Tasty African Food restaurant in Chatham High Street A fast-growing African restaurant chain has opened a new branch at the heart of Chatham High Street. Tasty African Food opened its Chatham restaurant on Friday, 2 July to a crowd of foodies and a live DJ performance. It offers both a takeaway and dine-in experience, serving freshly prepared African dishes such as cooked yam, soup and stew.  Inside the new Tasty African Food restaurant in Chatham. Photo: Tasty African Food / Facebook The restaurant occupies a building next to McDonald's, which was previously Mick's Place Fish & Chips, a Western Union and most recently Romanian grocery shop La Robita.
A spokesperson for Tasty African Food said: "From humble beginnings, Tasty African Food has grown to become the largest West African food chain in the UK. "Spanning over two decades of service, our reputation for providing traditional quality food is synonymous amongst the African community. "With now a store in Chatham, we hope to offer convenient African cuisine to the community that is simply tasty!" Tasty African Food is open to diners between 12pm and 9pm from Monday to Saturday.  Staff outside the new Beauty Outlet branch inside Chatham's Dockside Outlet Centre. Photo: Beauty Outlet / Facebook UK's fastest growing beauty retailer Beauty Outlet is the latest tenant to join Dockside Outlet Centre in Chatham. Beauty Outlet welcomed customers to its new Chatham branch - and its first in Kent - at a launch event on Saturday, 24 July. The shop sells products from the biggest beauty brands at discount prices, including Rimmel London, Elizabeth Arden, Max Factor and Revlon. Up to 25 new jobs were created at the discount beauty store.  Beauty Outlet sells products from several industry-leading beauty and personal care brands. Photo: Dockside Outlet Centre / Facebook  Luton Road will benefit from road safety improvements as part of a casualty reduction scheme. Photo: Google Maps Luton Road will close to motorists for road safety improvements next month, as part of a project to reduce the number of crashes. This will involve widening and upgrading the signalised pedestrian crossing outside Luton Primary School, which will feature a new raised table to slow down motorists, as well as carriageway resurfacing and improved street lighting. A new pedestrian crossing island near the junction with Upper Luton Road will also be built, while bus stops will be relocated, and traffic signs and road markings refreshed. The first phase of Medway Council's project starts on Monday, 9 August with temporary traffic lights in place at the junctions of Upper Luton Road and Ambrose Hill. These will be in force for a week from 7am and 7pm Monday to Saturday. Luton Road and Luton High Street between Castle Road and Street End Road roundabout will then be shut to all traffic for two weeks from Monday, 16 August between 7am and 7pm. It will be closed again from Monday, 25 October - during the school half term - for one week between 7am and 7pm for resurfacing.  Luton Road will be resurfaced as part of the road safety improvements The road will be reopened overnight and at weekends for local resident access only, with on street parking suspended where the works take place and when the road is resurfaced.
Buses will be diverted for the duration of the road closures and will not be able to pick up or drop off passengers between Castle Road and Street End Road in either direction. Notices will be placed at affected bus stops in advance, advising passengers of the works and nearest stops in use. It is earmarked that further measures including new speed cushions along part of Luton Road may be installed next summer, although this is yet to be finalised with Medway Council currently inviting comments from local residents. The road safety improvements are being completed by VolkerHighways on behalf of Medway Council. Any questions or issues can be raised to the workforce on site or by calling Medway Council's Customer Contact Centre on 01634 333333.  HSBC's branch in Gillingham High Street has permanently closed. Photo: Google Maps Gillingham's HSBC branch has permanently closed due to a decline in customer footfall.
The High Street bank closed its doors for the final time on Friday, 16 July as part of an overhaul of how remaining HSBC branches will operate. Its closure comes just weeks after it was revealed that the HSBC in Chatham High Street will lose its counters and shift to self-service machines only. HSBC says the decision reflected "local market trends, customer behaviour and branch usage", which will see 82 branches across the country close this year. Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK’s Head of Network said: “We know there will always be a need for face-to-face customer support and the evolution of our branches very much takes that into account. “Making sure we have a sustainable branch network is essential to us, and decisions to close branches are not taken lightly. "By ensuring we have the most suitable branch format in each specific local market that we serve, we will ensure that we are in good shape to meet the challenges ahead.” HSBC says that even before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the number of customers using its branches has fallen by a third in the last five years. Nine in ten (90%) of all customer contact with HSBC is now over the phone, internet or smartphone. Medway's other HSBC branches in Chatham High Street and Strood High Street remain open as usual. |
