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The Old Town Hall

The magnificent Grade II* Old Town Hall (OTH) in Gravesend’s Heritage Quarter has been restored to its former glory with £2.3m of investment from  Kent County Council (KCC), the EU’s Regeneration Development Funding Initiative, Urban Thames Gateway Kent, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), and .

KCC, the building's owner, and WCW have a partnership based on the joint recognition of the need to bring new and established communities together as part of the social and spiritual regeneration of North Kent. WCW played a key role in bringing partners together around this vision for the building as a social enterprise and community centre, and has worked alongside KCC and others throughout the project’s development. KCC will manage all aspects of the building's hire, administration and maintenance, allowing WCW to concentrate on bringing communities into the OTH. Working closely with KCC, the long-term aim is for WCW to take on the overall management of the building from KCC, and to place the OTH firmly where it belongs – at the heart of community life.

 

The OTH has three main areas:

The Community Zone

WCW’s main focus is on a suite of three rooms on the first floor of the OTH. These rooms are available for public hire (see Booking the OTH), and will be used for the several community projects that WCW develops and/or manages for the benefit of the wider community. For more information on WCW projects, click here).

The Café

A bar and café facility will be located on the ground floor of the northern wing of the OTH, on the left-hand side as you face the Market entrance. An atmospheric location for a meal, drink or just a coffee, the café area includes authentic prison cells from the building’s days as a Police Station and Court House, and has plenty of other cosy nooks and crannies too!

The café is set to open in Spring 2011.

The Commercial Zone

The most recent part of the OTH is its “Victorian Wing”, on the right-hand side as you face the Market entrance. Both floors of this wing have been let out by KCC on a commercial basis. Whenever possible, the aim is to find occupiers whose role provides a good fit with the social enterprise vision that KCC and WCW share. The first tenants to join the OTH development:

  • Kent Savers Credit Union, a cooperative organisation which aims to provide ethical financial services to people in Kent. For further information, see www.kentsavers.co.uk or telephone 0300 456 9990 (Mon-Fri 8am - 8pm, Sats. 9am-5pm)
  • The Kent Foundation, www.kentfoundation.org offering help and advice to young people in business or wanting to set up in business.

The OTH represents a unique opportunity to create ‘A Place for Everyone’ – a resource for local businesses, community groups, and families; and a house of welcome for new arrivals and others seeking inclusion in the life of the town.