New bakery and cafe, The Market Square Kitchen, has started trading from the refurbished Dickens Corner in Dover’s Market Square. A £10,000 town centre business grant from Dover District Council was used to refurbish the exterior of the mock Tudor style property, one of the most prominent buildings in the Market Square. The building has a long history as a bakery and is mentioned in Charles Dickens’ novel, David Copperfield, from the author’s visits to the town.
Dickens Corner is owned by Love Dover, a charitable trust. A spokesperson for the Trustees said: "The purchase and renovation of this landmark building has been a huge project for the trustees of Love Dover - all of whom are volunteers. All the work has been done by companies employing Dovorians, so we have been able to immediately bring benefits to our town.
“The start -up investment of £350,000 by Dover Town Council has gone a long way towards making the project possible and the £10,000 grant from DDC has contributed to making the exterior as beautiful as the interior."
Dover District Council’s town centre business grants scheme offers grants of up to £10,000 which can be used to bring empty properties back into use, or to upgrade or improve the appearance of commercial premises.
Cllr Sue Chandler, Deputy Leader of Dover District Council, said: “I am delighted to see this landmark building being brought back into use. Our town centre grants have proved a huge success and demonstrate our commitment to supporting the rejuvenation of our traditional town centres. To date, we’ve supported 19 town centre businesses in Dover, Deal and Sandwich with over £100,000 in funding.”
Posted on 23 October 2019