Pub demolition delayed over tunnel danger fear
‘Although the demolition will be slightly later than we had originally planned, we are continuing with our plans to rebuild Maidstone East station’
Rail experts have delayed the long-awaited demolition of an eyesore pub because they didn’t realise how complex bulldozing a building on top of a tunnel would be.
The Victoria pub was due to be knocked down this month as part of the redevelopment of neighbouring Maidstone East station but the project has now been pushed back to the summer.
The Sandling Road boozer has been vacant since 2011 and has fallen into a state of disrepair.
The £2m project, which has an estimated completion date of 2018, will see it razed and replaced with a public square with glass fronting added to the railway ticket office.
However, the scheme has suffered a setback after Network Rail engineers became concerned by the difficulties surrounding tearing down the premises, which sits directly above the railway tunnel. A Network Rail spokesman said: “We will be demolishing the pub later this year. Although the demolition will be slightly later than we had originally planned, we are continuing with our plans to rebuild Maidstone East station.”
In last week’s Kent Messenger Andrew Clarke recounted being told during the Second World War the then Victoria Hotel formed a key part of Maidstone’s defensive strategy.
Apparently in the event of a German invasion the cellar floor would be excavated and an explosive charge placed to collapse the tunnel beneath the building. Of course now that is exactly what Network Rail don’t want to happen. The plans form a small part of a wider regeneration project which hopes to bring 10,000sqm of shop space and 210 homes to the area by 2031.
A key part of that vision is the nearby former postal sorting office which has been empty since the Royal Mail moved to the Parkwood Industrial Estate, Park Wood, and was last year bought by Kent County Council and Maidstone Borough Council.
It will be used as office space until masterplans are drawn up in five years’ time.