Millions of pounds are being invested in Chatham to regenerate the town centre through a number of
Thanks to funding secured through the Future High Streets Fund, we’re refurbishing St John’s
The grade 2 listed church, situated on Railway Street in the heart of Chatham, will be restored as a place of
This exciting refurbishment will also include a redeveloped community area to provide conference
Open day
An open day was held on Saturday 1 April to provide comments on the initial ideas for the activity plan and programme schedule.
The 3 hour event was attended by around 100 residents.
As part of the event, visitors were told about the details of the planned regeneration works and given an overview of the activities that could be included once the building work has been completed.
They were then asked to put stickers on the activities that they particularly liked.
Results from the open day
The proposals in the activity plan were well received.
There was pride and delight in the building being used again and becoming a centre of the community for the future.
The areas that people were really interested in were:
- the church being used as a community hub
- the heritage: ensuring we recognise the untold stories, such as Sarah Forbes Bonetta’s connection with Chatham. We'll work with Medway Archives to reveal the stories in the church
- café proposal: several people spoken to were interested in working for the church either in the café or as a Community Partnership Officer.
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The grade 2 listed church will be restored, and The Diocese of Rochester are delivering the works in partnership with us.
The new church will provide facilities for the local community to use:
- for events and classes
- as flexible meeting spaces for businesses
- as a cafe area as well as continuing as a place of worship.
The Diocese has undertaken a procurement exercise.
We've gone out to tender for a contractor to carry out this exciting restoration work on this iconic grade 2 listed building.
We'll let you know once an appointed contractor is in place.
Construction works is expected to begin this winter.