The new Princes Street Retail Park was officially opened at a ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday morning, Monday 9 July 2018.
Leader of Swale Borough Council, Cllr Andrew Bowles, was joined by cabinet colleagues from the Spirit of Sittingbourne regeneration partnership.
The opening of Princes Street Retail Park marks the completion of the first stage of the Spirit of Sittingbourne regeneration programme. Attention now turns to construction of the leisure quarter, recently named Bourne Place, with work starting at the end of the summer on the Light cinema, Travelodge and restaurants including Pizza Express and Nando’s.
Commenting,Leader of Swale Borough Council, Cllr Andrew Bowles said:
“It’s fantastic to see the new units fully open, and I want to warmly welcome these new businesses to Sittingbourne. I hope they settle in quickly and thrive in their new homes.
“The retail park is the first element of the Spirit of Sittingbourne scheme to be completed, and marks a real turning point for the town. People are now seeing that the regeneration they’ve been waiting for is really happening, and there is a real buzz and excitement about the future for the town.
“We haven’t got to this stage by accident. It’s down to the continuing hard work of everyone involved – the Spirit consortium, and our partners in the public and private sectors – who are delivering a project that will breathe new life in to Sittingbourne.”
Rob Sloper on behalf of Spirit of Sittingbourne commented:
“It’s great to see the first phase of our regeneration scheme open to the public. “We’re looking forward to starting building work on the leisure quarter later this summer, complementing the businesses on the High Street and Forum, which of course remain open for business throughout roadworks and construction.”
*UPDATE*
The road closures for the second phase of roadworks will begin at 8pm on Monday 11 June and last for approximately four months.
A map detailing which roads will be closed and the alternative routes can be found here.
Additionally, there is a Frequently Asked Questions page, available here, which will answer most queries.
If your question is not answered on our FAQ page, please get in touch using the details at the bottom of this page.
**
As part of the regeneration of Sittingbourne, the planned second phase of roadworks around the train station will cause significant disruption to those who drive in and around the area.
The second phase of the roadworks will include the closure of:
The station end of Dover Street
The station end of Milton Road
The station end of St Michael’s Road
The section of Station Street which runs parallel to St Michael’s Road
The programme begins on May 29 with the above road closures taking effect by June 11. The whole programme lasts for approximately four months.
Whilst we are taking steps to mitigate the impact of these necessary works, delays are inevitable. Residents are advised to plan ahead and review their journey in order to minimise the disruption caused to their travel plans.
Town centre visitors will need to review their parking options over the period of the roadworks and bus users should take note of temporary stop changes.
Full details of the works are contained in the Q&A section of this website (click here).
Further further information or questions, please email roadworks@spiritofsittingbourne.com or call our roadworks hotline on 01795 602 011.
We apologise for the inevitable disruption this phase of the Spirit of Sittingbourne development will cause.
Those who commute through the roadwork area, and Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) are advised to make alternative travel arrangements and avoid the area altogether. There will be a diversion route in place for HGVs.
Residents can keep updated on further news related to the Spirit of Sittingbourne project at www.spiritofsittingbourne.com
Cllr Andrew Bowles, Leader of Swale Borough Council said:
“Nando’s signing up for the new leisure quarter is another confirmation of confidence in the Spirit of Sittingbourne regeneration programme, which has seen the Council under my leadership invest in Sittingbourne’s future. We all look forward to Nando’s opening, but there’s disagreement in the Cabinet on which PERi-PERii sauce we can handle!’
Richard Upton, Deputy CEO at U+I said:
“We are delighted to have Nando’s onboard and to be powering ahead with work in Sittingbourne. The multi-million-pound investment will soon be delivering many benefits including; popular shops, a hotel, cinema, six restaurants and hundreds of new jobs. Local people can look forward to having the evening attractions Sittingbourne deserves on the doorstep and the quality restaurant and leisure offer will attract new visitors to the town centre.”
As part of the Spirit of Sittingbourne regeneration, preparatory works are beginning to take place that will enable the construction of the cinema and new leisure quarter later this year.
Work to improve drainage and resurface the Forum car park will begin this week with a new temporary entrance being installed from 9 April.
The main resurfacing work will commence from 16 April when the Forum end of the car park will be fenced off and the substantive drainage and resurfacing work will begin.
Throughout the works, we will provide the current number of 6 disabled parking bays with the temporary bays connected to the Forum by a safe and level route.
In addition to the above works, this week will see work to excavate and divert sewers in preparation for construction of the new multi-story car park.
St Michael’s Road will be closed for a short stretch on the westbound carriageway for up to 3 weeks. The closure runs from Station Street to the point where the bus access road from Station Street joins St Michael’s Road. The diversion route is via Station Street and using the bus lane to re-join St Michael’s Road, east of the Station Roundabout.
We’re delighted to announce the name for our new retail park off Eurolink Way, known as Site 6 in planning speak.
After a public poll run online and in the Kent Messenger, Princes Street Retail Park has been chosen.
Opening in 2018, Princes Street Retail Park will be home to new retailers including Home Bargains and Food Warehouse from Iceland, alongside a Costa drive thru.
Cllr Andrew Bowles, leader of Swale council, said:
“I’m pleased to announce the clear winner of our public poll to name the new big box retail site as Princes Street Retail Park.
“It’s pleasing to see that local people chose a name that helps connect the history of the town to the bright future ahead.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what ideas people come up with for the new public square and leisure quarter when we ask them to help pick a name next year.”
As you can see from our latest snaps, construction is well underway at the new retail site off Eurolink Way (formally known as ‘Site 6’ in council planning speak).
We’re on track to complete the building works by the end of March. We will then hand over to the tenants, including Home Bargains and Food Warehouse from Iceland, for fit out, which will take from four to twelve weeks depending on their programme.
Exact opening dates will be announced in 2018, so watch this space!
Why not have your say on the permanent name for the new retail park? Spirit of Sittingbourne has been working with Swale Borough Council and the Historical Research Group of Sittingbourne (HRGS) to come up with a shortlist of names for the site to be put to the public vote.
You can vote for your choice here.
The poll will run until Wednesday, 29 November and the final choice will be announced at the council meeting on 13 December.
As is the case with such schemes, our contractors constantly keep works under review with Kent County Council in order to ensure disruption is minimised. As part of that process we’ve trialled solutions for eastbound traffic leaving The Forum car park. Regular vehicles are able to take a left turn through the bus breakthrough onto the A2, but this will be improved to accommodate larger vehicles, such as HGVs, which currently travel down Station Street until they can safely turn onto their preferred route.
Milton Road will remain closed for at least one more week than planned. This is due to the conditions of the road, the amount of plant underneath it and the requirement to have Network Rail representatives on site. The works will be completed before the new school term at the latest.
The first phase of roadworks is on track to be completed by November 30th.
Construction of the retail units will be complete by March 2018, when Costa Coffee, Home Bargains and Food Warehouse from Iceland take up residence. Essential service works by UK Power Networks on Milton Road to service the new units will take place from July 25th 2017 and last a maximum of three weeks.
Roadworks to facilitate the construction of the new leisure quarter will take place in four phases, with the first phase kicking off at the beginning of August and finishing by the beginning of December. Phase one will see westbound traffic from St Michael’s Rd diverted onto Station Street, allowing works on West Street, Station St, St Michaels Rd and the adjoining car parks. Whilst these works will not result in significant diversions to traffic, we do anticipate some disruption, so drivers may want to allow a little extra time for their journey.
Phase two roadworks will begin in the New Year. Completion of the second phase of works will fully release the leisure quarter land, meaning work can begin on the new Light Cinema and new restaurants, including Pizza Express and Wildwood.
Cllr Mike Cosgrove, Cabinet Member for Regeneration at Swale Borough Council: “After a thorough process to ensure this vital regeneration project could go ahead, we’re now looking forward to realising our vision for Sittingbourne town centre’s future, benefiting local people through new leisure and employment opportunities.”
Rob Sloper of Spirit of Sittingbourne: “A lot of work has gone into ensuring plans for the regeneration of Sittingbourne reached this stage. We’re delighted that we’re now able to move from concept to construction this summer, with work on the ground bringing the benefits of our development to the local area.”
To view proposed roadworks, click here.
