Demolition of eyesore pub set to begin
Scaffolding has been erected as work to demolish a Maidstone pub gets underway.
The Victoria, on the corner of Station Road next to Maidstone East, has become an eyesore since closing several years ago.
Network Rail announced last year the venue would be bulldozed to make way for a public square and refurbished glassfronted ticket office.
The work was due to start earlier in March, but after engineers became aware of the complexities of knocking down a building on top of a railway tunnel the project was delayed.
The £2 million scheme is due to be completed next year and is partly funded by the National Stations Improvement Programme and the South East Local Enterprise Partnership.
It forms a small part of a wider regeneration project which hopes to bring 10,000 sq m of shop space and 210 homes to the area by 2031.
A key part of that vision is the nearby former 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 for £5m.
It will be used as office space until masterplans are drawn up in five years’ time.
Part of the site is currently being sublet to a charity for use as a depot.