City Gaol Cafe

Location: Canterbury

Client: Private Client

Value: £850,000

The scheme comprised the remodelling of the former City Gaol and Police Station to form a new cafe with associated facilities. It also provided a reception area for the newly re-opened Westgate Towers Museum which was accessed via the link bridge between the buildings.

The property is listed which resulted in the involvement of English Heritage who approved each element of the works at the various stages of the project. Because of the extremely restricted nature of the site, our temporary accommodation was situated on the other side of the River Stour in the North Lane public car park, the space for which was rented from Canterbury City Council. Access to the site from the accommodation was provided via a scaffold bridge which required permission from the Environment Agency.

The link bridge, referred to previously, was extensively renovated and enclosed with glazing to the sides and zinc to the roof. This particular aspect of the works included the obtaining of all necessary permissions and consents to erect access scaffolding and involved the closure of the public footpath below whilst the glazed panels were lifted into place.