Heritage Statement Visitor Information Centre, 95 High Street, Rochester ME1 1LX Euronet ATM

Introduction The Visitor Information Centre is located at 95 High Street Rochester and this document outlines the importance of the centre and the need for Rochester High Street to have a fully serviced 24 hr ATM facility. 95 High Street makes a positive contribution to the Conservation Area and annually attracts in the region of 220,000 visitors per annum. Rochester and the information centre both benefit from a high volume of footfall, especially during major festivals and events attracting visitors worldwide as well as its close proximity to London and the Channel Ports.

The need for a fully serviced free to use ATM is due to the closure of major High Street Banks. Rochester has no ‘Bank’ presence on the High Street and the only other location for residents and visitors to withdraw free cash withdrawals is from over the counter at the Post Office located within a small chemist.

Images: Front elevations - Visitor Information 95 High Street, Rochester

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Conservation Historic Rochester was first designated a conservation area in 1972 and later extended to include the western end of the High Street. Also incorporated within the historic Rochester Conservation Area are the adjacent Church Fields and Victoria Street Conservation Areas which were designated in1994.

Conservation areas are designated under the provisions of Section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. A conservation area is defined as “an area of special architectural or historic interest the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance.” There is thought to be over 200 listed buildings and scheduled monuments throughout historic Rochester Conservation Area.

The building itself (95 High Street) is not listed, but it is located in the centre of Rochester’s Conservation Area. There are many heritage buildings of great significant importance in history contained within this conservation area. These include , the second oldest cathedral in England founded in 604AD and 12th century Rochester Castle owned and managed by Council in partnership with English Heritage.

The castle and cathedral are both within a short walking distance of the Visitor Information Centre along with several neighbouring buildings of significant heritage importance are located on the High Street including the adjacent Grade1 listed Six Poor Travellers House - a charity house established by Richard Watts, local businessman and MP for Rochester to provide board and lodgings for poor travellers. When Richard Watts died in 1579 the house was probably over a hundred years old and called the Rochester Almshouse. Watts’ left money to the almshouse for the construction of six rooms to house poor travellers for one night only. It opened to travellers in 1586 and continued to serve this purpose until 1940.

In addition to the castle and cathedral, there are a number of significant buildings that stand out from the general background of the conservation area, acting as landmark buildings and The Six Poor Travellers House is considered as one of these properties.

The most well-known literary connection to the area is who resided in Chatham as a child, returning to Rochester in later years. Drawing inspiration from his surroundings, many of Dickens novels include reference to Rochester and individual buildings such as Eastgate House, The Old Corn Exchange, Guildhall Museum, Restoration House and The Six Poor Travellers House. Dickens’ is celebrated in Rochester today at the twice-yearly Dickens festivals and is unique selling point in tourism in attracting visitors to Medway. 2

Background on how 95 High Street has changed over the years There is little information about 95 High Street until the Georgian era (1714-1830) when a residential house was constructed. At this time, it was known as 58 High Street and remained as such until the High Street was renumbered in the 1890s.

During the Victorian period the Georgian exterior was replaced with a frontage more in keeping with current fashions. It is recorded that the interior of this building was quite large. At the rear of the entrance hall was a large apartment with a gallery running along all-four sides which gave access to the various rooms. The staircase was the full height of the two stories high and it was lit by means of a skylight.

The building was occupied in 1832 by J. Nightingale who was a solicitor and magistrate. By 1865 it had become the home of London & Co. Stock bank but by the 1870s it had returned to a private dwelling when a J L Edwards, Mayor of Rochester lived there.

Image – 95 High Street circa 1897

In 1818 the Rochester, Chatham and Strood Gaslight Company was formed. They purchased 95 High Street sometime between 1877 and 1890 and the Company remained in this building until 1993.

In 1924 the original Victorian façade of the building was demolished and a refurbished head office and showrooms opened. The ground floor of the building became the show room. Here all the appliances were plumbed in so that they could be turned on for demonstrations.

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Image – Gas Company, 95 High Street circa 1920s

In 1993 the former local authority Rochester upon Medway City Council took over 95 High Street from the Gas Show Rooms and opened Rochester’s Visitor Information Centre. The building has stayed in use as an information centre ever since. The French Hospital bought the building from Medway Council in 2012 and today Medway Council continue to run the Visitor Information Centre from the ground floor, whilst the top two floors are now occupied by the Huguenot Museum.

Image – 95 High Street circa present

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Proposed ATM location Medway Visitor Information Centre at 95 High Street makes a positive contribution to the Conservation Area and therefore is considered a non-designated heritage asset and will need appropriate consideration. Being located in such a historic setting it is of utmost importance to ensure that any harm to heritage assets is minimised and justified by the proposed development as per section 16 of the NPPF and the appropriate policies within the Medway Local Plan. The ATM will be located when facing the building to the right-hand side of the front elevation that once housed an out-of-hours tourist information screen. The screen was in use from 1997 until early 2000 and removed when the Visitor Information Centre upgraded the till system thus making the facility redundant. This location was boarded over once the touchscreen was removed from service and this area is still visible today as shown in the picture below.

Proposed new CCTV camera located at top corner near column area.

Upgraded lighting point (existing)

Location for ATM (former site of out-of- hours Info touchscreen.

Images – left showing exterior ATM location and right shows interior location (mirror area) where machine with be serviced with internal CCTV cameras in shop area already provided.

The location of the ATM in question will be sited in a well-lit recessed area with its own dedicated CCTV camera that will be linked to the Visitor Information Centre’s system. There is an existing exterior light point in this area currently switched off, but should planning permission be granted this light will be upgraded to a modern LED fitting by the council’s contractor Medway Norse. The building is directly overlooked by nearby residents living above neighbouring shops/restaurants 95 High Street. Rochester High Street has monitored CCTV managed by Medway Public Services Ltd and can be viewed by passing public/vehicles on this busy one-way section of the High Street. 5

In the event of the ATM being removed in future the area being utilised for the machine will be fully reinstated by Euronet. Therefore, there will be no visual impact or structural harm caused to 95 High Street in the future. The installation of a 24/7 ATM at 95 High Street will have no detrimental impact on the building’s facade or the Rochester Conservation Area.

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