The Bench Street area of Dover town is the location for one of our most exciting regeneration projects – The Dover Beacon.
This new landmark building, right in the heart of the town centre, will be home to a new creative and digital learning hub for the district.
High-quality flexible, affordable office space will be available for start-ups and small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to build their success.
There will also be new open space alongside the River Dour and an expansion of the Dover bike hire scheme – ideal for further exploration.
The project, part funded by the UK Government, will deliver over £90 million of economic benefit to the district, including the regeneration of the wider town centre area.
Dover District Council has match funded the £21.3 million invested in the project through the government’s Levelling Up Fund and Future High Streets Fund.
Lee Evans Partnership are the architects behind the design for the Dover Beacon project and you can read more about their vision to raise aspirations, provide opportunities and inspire generations on their website.
This exciting £22 million development is currently the subject of a planning application to Dover District Council.
LEP Architecture and LEP Planning have worked with Dover District Council, Jenner Group and other partners to deliver the scheme, with a decision expected in due course.
It will breathe new life and purpose into a prominent and complex site facing the English Channel that is intersected by the A20 dual carriageway.
That includes expanding the town’s presence of the East Kent College Group, one of Kent’s largest and most innovation vocational education providers.
In addition to enhancing Dover’s growing reputation as a hub for creative businesses this unashamedly contemporary styled building will open up the potential for improving the appearance of this part of the town.
That will include three new piazzas accessed from the bars and restaurants of Dover’s Market Square, providing a welcoming space for getting together with friends or just to stop for a while.
The building itself will seek to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing linked by a striking central atrium, with flexible exhibition space, cafe seating and break out areas.
It takes its cues from its historic surroundings in a way that will enhance and not detract, creating a new landmark building of opportunity for Dover town.