Dover District Council mark a major step in their multi-million pound regeneration project

KentOnline / KMTV

Council and business leaders gathered to mark the construction of the highest point of a new, multi-purpose community centre, largely funded by the government.    Reporter Alfie Rowe went to Dover to find out more.

Transcript

00:01On the roof of this building site in the centre of Dover, celebrations are underway.

00:08With construction reaching the top floor, spirits are just as high.

00:13It's a monumental day, quite honestly. This is the topping out ceremony, not the culmination

00:19because obviously we haven't finished it just yet, but this is a great step forward to deliver

00:24a regeneration opportunity for the district, something that we can be rightfully proud of.

00:28Fitting its name, the Dover Beacon Redevelopment Plan hopes to create an inspiring hub for the local community.

00:36Upon completion, the four-storey project will be a business, creative and education centre.

00:42With £20 million coming in from the government, Dover District Council promised it will bring £90 million in economic gain to the area.

00:50It's an opportunity for us to perhaps act as a conduit to bring people together, to look at how we can work digitally,

00:58with our new studio that's going to be based here.

01:01We assembled a team that people were local as much as possible, the contractors are quite local,

01:07and people really do want to do something good here.

01:10It's going to be so good for our students, just standing here looking at some of the classrooms,

01:14they're going to have a view of the sea and a view of Dover Castle, I mean what more can you ask for, really fantastic facilities.

01:20Although it's all smiles now, the regeneration of Kent's famous coastal town has not always been smooth sailing.

01:28It has had some major challenges in that the archaeology of the site was, part of it was of international significance.

01:38So there was challenges there, there were challenges around it being very close to the river level and the flood,

01:45and equally they had to sit in an historic town centre.

01:49It hasn't come without its challenges, it was the collaboration of the team that came up with plans to overcome those challenges.

01:58As the project remains on schedule, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

02:04But with the building's completion expected in Spring 2026, Dover's transformation is a work in progress.

02:10Alfie Rowe for KMTV in Dover.

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