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January Planning Report

January Planning Report

Conference centres! Sunken bars! Shops! A ton of flats!

Ed Jennings's avatar
Ed Jennings
Jan 17, 2024
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January Planning Report
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A bumper crop of planning applications for Medway this month, led by the dual applications for a new building on Rochester High Street and a unique sunken bar at the rear. Further down, there’s news on a large residential development in the Intra area, a new conference centre, the development of a former ambulance station, and lots more.


Rochester’s sunken bar dreams

Full application / Location

It’s not often that we get something genuinely quite new and striking in these planning updates, but this proposal to build a sunken cafe and bar in the former Natwest car park in Rochester is up there. The plans take a derelict bit of car park and propose sinking a new establishment into the ground while adding a green roof above that will be accessible to the public. Supposedly this ties in nicely with the wider Rochester Castle moat across the road, which feels a bit more questionable, but it’s a unique development for Rochester nonetheless.

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