Approval for Ambitious Council-Led Repurposing Project

Acting on behalf of Medway Council, Williams Gallagher has secured planning permission and lawful development certificates to facilitate the conversion of the currently under-utilised first floor of the Pentagon Shopping Centre in Chatham Town Centre. This ambitious project will see the re-purposing of the first floor of the Centre, comprising approximately 120,000 sqft overall, to form a Healthy Living Centre (HLC) on one half and an Innovation Hub on the other.

The Healthy Living Centre will be a joint initiative between Medway Council and the NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and is designed to accommodate 2 no. existing and consolidated GP practices (namely Bryant Street and Maritime) and the provision of ancillary primary care services (operated by Medway Community Health) in one convenient and highly accessible town centre location.

The proposed Innovation Hub is to be operated by Edgility Limited and will comprise an area of flexible office / business accommodation with an emphasis on providing short term lets / flexible lease arrangements to local businesses and start-ups. It will be known as ‘Ascend’.

The plans form part of Medway Council’s plans to redevelop the Shopping Centre, which it bought for nearly £37m in 2019. Indeed, the project is regarded as a critical strategic intervention to redevelop the Pentagon Shopping Centre following the relocation of the town centre’s bus station which was located at the first floor of the Centre until 2013. Although the relocation of the bus station improved access to the town centre, it left a large void space on the centre’s first floor, which has reduced footfall and affected retail performance in this location.

The project team included Black Cat Building Consultancy, LSI Architects and Ellandi.