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Please pass this on to friends as fast as you can – there’s no time to lose!
Stop press – click here for the latest news on this development
Standard Quay in Faversham is a busy part of the old town – the boatyard there is currently busy restoring the famous old barge Cambria, for one thing. Click on the picture above to learn more.
But now it’s said that Swale Borough Council is considering allowing the developers in – and they want to turn it into a restaurant area and housing, and that there’s a big meeting about the issue this Thursday.
No doubt there’s serious money behind the project, but this sounds very much like the wrong project for the town, and for everyone who loves Faversham Creek and Standard Quay the way they are.
One of my concerns is that if they bring in developers to sponsor housing, restaurants and the rest, it won’t be long before the traditional maritime activities will be the subject of complaints about noise and general untidiness. Even traditional and historic industrial activities such as boatyards and yuppie flats rarely make happy close neighbours.
I understand the shipwrights, the shipwright apprentice scheme and the blockmaker who currently operate from the listed quayside workshops restoring traditional vessels are already planning to leave, as they believe they have no other choice. That’s a great shame, because there is demand for the skills and facilities Standard Quay currently offers.
This website includes a trailer for a beautiful and atmospheric film about this part of Faversham Creek.
If you know the area or are concerned that this important area of the town might be lost, please contact the relevant councillors now – their contact detail are in the News section of the The Quay website above.
Photos provided by Standard Quay film maker Richard Fleury