We’ve reached the next leg of the journey to a new and improved Brook Theatre for everyone, with the appointment of the contractor to deliver the refurbishment and restoration works.
As part of Medway Council’s major regeneration programme to transform Medway’s emerging city centre, Chatham, into a better place to live, work, learn and visit for residents now and future generations, the historic Grade II listed theatre is being restored.
Thomas Sinden Ltd has been appointed to deliver the multi-million-pound refurbishment for one of our biggest regeneration projects in recent years. Works are due to start this summer and are estimated to take at least 18 months to complete, with the theatre expected to re-open in 2027.
Managing Director of Thomas Sinden Ltd, Graeme Sinden, has said “Having grown up in Medway, the Brook Theatre holds a lot of memories for me. I’ve attended concerts there over the years and even remember when it served as the council offices. It’s a real privilege for Thomas Sinden to be leading the restoration of such a beautiful and iconic local landmark. As well as preserving its historic character, we’re upgrading the building to modern standards, improving accessibility, and installing sustainable systems that will reduce its environmental impact. We’re proud to help secure its future as a vibrant, inclusive venue for the whole community.”
To ensure the building was fully safe prior to Thomas Sinden commencing on the refurbishment works, we have been incredibly busy behind the scenes over the last 2 years to prepare the theatre for this stage in the refurbishment programme. Firstly, working with our architects Baileys, we had to carry out intrusive surveys that included detailed examinations of the structure of the building, checking walls, floors and ceilings to inspect underlying elements and any hidden issues. These results led to more designs being produced by our architects before we could agree the final plans.
We’ve also been spending time ensuring all of the improvements that we want to deliver could be achieved financially. We have now successfully secured enough funding to deliver the changes that are needed. The project is being delivered thanks to a number of funding programmes including the previous UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund where £6.5 million worth of funding was secured. £300,000 was also awarded through the Future High Streets Fund, while the council is also contributing over £10 million to deliver the improvement works.
We have spent the last 10 months working on the procurement of the contract for this multi-million pound project. This process has enabled us to ensure we secured the best contractor with the necessary expertise and experience to take forward the refurbishment of this iconic, 125-year-old building.
Thomas Sinden are no strangers to transforming large-scale heritage sites. Their portfolio of dealing with iconic historic building projects includes St Albans Cathedral where they installed a single storey welcome centre at one of the nation’s highest profile Grade I listed cathedrals. Meanwhile Toynbee Hall in London saw the creation of multiple storey extensions to provide offices, residential accommodation, education facilities and heritage interpretation.
With the contract now in place, Thomas Sinden will be able to commence on the next stage of construction with onsite hoarding due to go up this spring. Stay tuned for further news as the refurbishment works fully commence this summer.
Colin Graham, a local Medway resident who has grown up in the area, is the site manager for the project. Hear Colin’s thoughts about taking on this major project.
