The Luton Arches railway bridge in Chatham is ready and waiting for a full refurbishment expected to span over three months from January 2020. Network Rail has confirmed that the project costing just over £650,000 will see the Luton Arches benefit from a long-awaited refurbishment, which will include the repainting of steelwork, installation of pigeon deterrent and netting, brickwork repairs and the replacement of defective gutters. The refurbishment is expected to start on-site from 8 January, 2020 and should be completed by 13 March, 2020 - although it may continue until the end of that month. Documents retrieved from Network Rail through a Freedom of Information request noted that while the traffic management plan is yet to be finalised with Medway Council, it is likely to include a series of single lane closures and full road closures to "allow necessary work on the middle section [of the bridge] to be carried out safely". Local residents and businesses will be notified in advance via letter, prior to work commencing on site. "This really is an amazing achievement helped by our community's constant positive dialogue with Network Rail and the support of many others..." The news of the Luton Arches refurbishment has been hugely welcomed by National Lottery-funded community group, Arches Local, hailing the announcement as an "amazing achievement" that has been supported by "constant positive dialogue with Network Rail and the support of many others" from the local community. Arches Local has led at least four years' worth of discussions with Network Rail centred around the deteriorating state of the Luton Arches bridge, having launched a petition at the end of 2015 that eventually voiced 200 residents' discontent over Network Rail's irresponsibility of what is essentially the most iconic gateway junction into the centre of urban Medway. While the community group is pleased to finally see - hopefully - longer-lasting measures against the issues of pigeon nuisance and the white muck on the brick walls from damaged gutters, it stresses that there is yet a lot more to do to further improve the Luton Arches, built in 1858, and reinvigorate the bridge as a focal point sat between Luton Road and Chatham High Street. "We have also had discussions [with Network Rail] around painting a mural on one of the walls under the structure," Arches Local said, adding: "we will consult with the wider community as to what it could incorporate." The group's long-term vision for the railway bridge, based on ideas from local residents, also includes bringing back the historic Driver Fountain - originally installed in front of the Luton Arches by three-times mayor of Chatham William Driver - as well as the installation of new featured structural lighting and the planting of poplar trees and wildflowers at the roundabout junction. The full refurbishment of the Luton Arches comes after Future Chatham encouraged Network Rail to replace leaking, old metal guttering with new plastic pipes back in 2015, after which £96,000 improvements were completed in late 2017 which included the installation of a canopy above the pavement to prevent the hazardous build-up of pigeon droppings.
Looking ahead, it is hoped that the latest major works will act as a catalyst for a better future for the Luton Arches gateway. "Fingers crossed we are closer to improving the look, feel and smell of that area," concludes Arches Local. Greetings card chain Clintons is said to be considering shutting 1 in 5 shops, sparking uncertainty over the future of Chatham's branch in the Pentagon Shopping Centre.
The retailer, which currently employs around 2,500 staff, has entered talks with landlords to restructure the business through a survival process known as a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), allowing Clintons to continue trading while going ahead with store closures and rent cuts in response to insolvency. While Clintons is yet to finalise any final decisions, the process may involve closing 66 of its 332 stores across the UK - could Chatham's store be one of them? Documents presented to landlords allegedly revealed that at least 90 of its stores are currently 'loss-making' with sales forecast to continue to decline, The Sunday Telegraph reported. However, speaking to the BBC, a spokeswoman for Clintons declined to confirm such revelations and said that "discussions are continuing with our landlords but no decisions have been made". Founded in 1968, the Clintons chain - formerly known as Clinton Cards - fell into administration in May 2012, which saw a wave of store closures including nearly 200 of its own stores and all 139 Birthdays shops, which was a subsidiary of the retail group. The former Birthdays store in the Pentagon Shopping Centre, Chatham was rebranded to the current Clintons store, while Clintons Cards near Primark closed its doors for the final time in July 2012 - now home to the Wisdom Hospice charity shop. |
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