Relocation of Driver Fountain
Relocation of Driver Fountain
Arches Local is delighted to bring a remarkable piece of Chatham’s heritage back to its rightful home in Luton on its 125th anniversary.
The fountain was originally installed at the Luton Arches in October 1899, donated by three-time mayor William Dawes Driver to celebrate the life of his late father, Joshua Driver – a successful merchant, local politician and helper of those in need.
Made of Peterhead red and Aberdeen blue granite, the fountain was designed not just to serve the townspeople but also their horses, featuring drinking basins and a trough. However, in 1961 the fountain was relocated to a forgotten corner of Chatham Cemetery due to plans to build a taxi rank in its place, which never came to fruition. Meanwhile, the trough was disposed of despite various claims otherwise.
The fountain’s return to Luton has been no simple feat, beginning over a decade ago with a simple news article to try and prompt action, but to no avail. Despite several false starts, this year Arches Local decided to make one final effort and approached the project with a fresh perspective. We commissioned Taylor Pearce, royal warrant-holding stonemasons, and Meristem Design, expert landscape designers, to bring this project to life.
Various relocation sites were considered, including its original location by the roundabout and a site by the pedestrian crossing on Chatham Hill, which was favoured by Medway Council during their relocation attempt some years ago. However, all options aside from the final chosen site proved unfeasible due to the extensive engineering works and implausible road closures necessary for safe reassembly.
During our disassembly we discovered that all of its plumbing was already removed and the cavities were backfilled with concrete. As a result, replumbing is no longer possible, even if we had wished to do so.
Through the fountain’s return to its rightful place, the legacy of both Joshua and William Driver will continue to be a part of Chatham’s story for generations to come. Relocating the historic Driver Fountain on its 125th anniversary is yet another step in our ongoing commitment to repairing Chatham’s urban landscape. We believe that our shared spaces should be places where nature thrives, culture is celebrated, and communities come together.
Photos: Jane Robb
Meristem Design Partnership
Meristem Design Partnership
We were pleased to welcome award-winning landscapers Meristem Design to transform our planted areas in Luton Road this week.
They were also joined by pupils of Luton Primary School who helped to bring this project to life.
Our community chose vibrant and road-tolerant species to provide seasonal colour and joy every year, while boosting biodiversity.
The new landscaping complements the nine trees we planted in Luton Road in recent years, building on our legacy of work to green the grey in Chatham.
This marks the start of an ongoing partnership with Meristem Design, through which we hope to work with them again on the Driver Fountain relocation and Phase 2 of the Luton Road casualty reduction scheme.
Summer Adventures
Summer Adventures
Summer 2024 marked a significant change for Arches Local as we introduced our brand-new Adventures Programme, moving away from our previous Fit & Fed programme. This summer was our first season offering children in our community a range of unique sporting, creative and cultural experiences.
Our Adventures Programme is designed to provide young people, particularly those of primary school age within our boundary, with access to extraordinary opportunities they might otherwise miss out on. In partnership with Luton, All Saints and New Road primary schools, children are referred directly into the programme, allowing them to take part in a variety of enriching activities.
Throughout the summer, we organised a number of exciting events. Families enjoyed several kayaking trips, while others had the unique opportunity to attend the prestigious Wimbledon Championships. We also hosted educational visits to the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum, sparking curiosity and wonder. One of the summer highlights was our falconry experience, where children learnt about birds of prey and even had the chance to fly a variety of them. The season culminated in an action-packed day at Lower Grange Farm, where participants had a go at zorbing, bushcraft, frisbee golf and quad biking.
Our Adventures Programme runs during every school holiday, with exciting activities already planned for October, December and February.
Chatham Elephant Mural
Chatham Elephant Mural
Continuing to reveal the hidden stories of Chatham through public art, this week we saw our fourth mural painted.
Acclaimed artist Curtis Hylton was commissioned by Arches Local to respond to a list of local stories, and took inspiration from the story of the ‘Chatham Elephant’.
In 1913, Sydney Turner, a Luton resident, made a remarkable discovery in Upnor: the bones of the Chatham Elephant. These belonged to a straight-tusked elephant, an ancient species dating back approximately 400,000 years, with a height of nearly 4 metres and weighing around 10 tonnes. Excavations took place in 1915, revealing what is considered to be the largest elephant species ever found in Britain. Today, London’s Natural History Museum is home to Turner’s extraordinary findings.
Located on Newnham Street, this mural wouldn’t have been possible without the support of mhs homes, the UK’s largest independent landlord, who kindly donated their wall.
If you have a wall or local story you’d like to have considered for future murals, please get in touch!
High Street’s First 24/7 Defibrillator
Chatham High Street’s First 24/7 Defibrillator
Arches Local is pleased to announce the installation of Chatham High Street’s first fully accessible, 24/7 publicly available defibrillator.
The initiative was sparked by concerned residents of Pembroke Court in late 2023, who rightly highlighted the critical lack of accessible defibrillators in the area. Their voices were heard, and we took action, partnering with FirstPort and leveraging support from the Department of Health and Social Care’s Defibrillator Scheme to make this project a reality.
Installed this week, the defibrillator is conveniently located for quick access and use by anyone in an emergency. Thank you to all who contributed to this vital project, especially those residents at Pembroke Court who championed the idea.
Neighbourhood Plan
Neighbourhood Plan
Our neighbourhood planning journey began at our event on a winter’s day in Town Hall Gardens. Conversations transpired into an ambition to create Kent’s first urban Neighbourhood Plan – five years down the line, this has become a reality.
Born out of a desire to get a better deal from the planning system, we set up a neighbourhood forum in 2019 and engaged thousands of local people to hear their aspirations for the Brook, Luton and Shipwrights areas. The examiner, Nigel McGurk BSc(Hons) MCD MBA MRTPI, described the plan-making process as “an exemplary approach to public consultation”.
This formed the Neighbourhood Plan, setting out the community’s vision for our corner of Chatham through planning policies. The Plan was put to a local referendum on 2 May 2024, and we are thrilled to announce that an overwhelming majority of 88% voted in favour.
As a result, the Plan has been adopted by Medway Council. This means that planning applications by developers and land owners within our boundary are decided by Medway Council in accordance with the Plan.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us on this journey, from those who attended our initial consultation events, to those who helped in the hectic days leading up to the referendum. Thanks to your efforts, we are a small step closer to a happier, healthier and greener Chatham.
Inaugural Away Day
Inaugural Away Day
Last week we set sail on a wet and windy adventure for Arches Local’s very first away day aboard the Edith May.
Inspired by Nottingham Big Local Connects, the Partnership felt now was the right time for a team away day to promote conversations about the future and our legacy vehicle (Community Interest Company).
What followed was hours of brainstorming, snacking, and trying to remember what it felt like to be dry and warm. Despite the weather doing its best to dampen spirits, goodwill and positivity remained high as we mapped out our next steps and came one step closer to appointing new Directors.
Huge thanks to Lucy from Local Trust for her support and to Tiller & Wheel CIC for hosting us and making sure we didn’t go overboard (literally and figuratively).
Anne Pratt Mural
Anne Pratt Mural
Continuing to reveal the hidden stories of Chatham, this week we achieved a hat-trick with our third mural painted.
Renowned artist Sophie Mess was commissioned by Arches Local to respond to a list of local stories, and took inspiration from the incredible life of Anne Pratt (1806-1893).
Living with her sister off Luton Road for some years, Anne found solace in drawing due to poor health and an injured knee.
Little did she know, her passion would elevate her to become one of the best-known botanical illustrators of the Victorian age. Publishing more than 20 books, Queen Victoria herself requested copies of her works.
Inspired by Anne’s bold life choices, and in Sophie Mess’ contemporary style, she contrasts the word ‘imagine’ with the flowers Anne would have painted.
Located on Newnham Street, this mural wouldn’t have been possible without the support of mhs homes, the UK’s largest independent landlord, who kindly donated their wall.
If you have a wall or local story you’d like to have considered for future murals, please get in touch!
Asquith Mural
Asquith Xavier Mural
Building on our work to celebrate the hidden stories of this corner of Chatham, our latest mural has been painted on Hare Street.
Arches Local commissioned renowned artist Voyder to respond to a list of local stories and, as can be seen, he chose the extraordinary story of Asquith Xavier.
Asquith played an important role in the campaign for racial equality in the workplace.
He was born in Dominica and moved to England in 1958 as part of the Windrush generation, invited from the Caribbean to help rebuild post-war Britain.
He joined British Railways as a guard at London’s Marylebone station in 1966. With the closure of the Marylebone main line, Asquith applied for a transfer to Euston station but was rejected due to a ‘whites-only’ recruitment policy, which excluded black people from customer-facing roles.
Asquith fought this decision and eventually became the first non-white guard at Euston station, marking a pivotal moment for this country.
His strength and determination also influenced changes to the law, which made the refusal of housing, employment or public services to people based on their ethnic background illegal.
Asquith lived on Grove Road from 1972 to 1980 when he sadly passed away.
If you have a wall or a local story you’d like to be considered for future murals, please get in touch!
Cabbage Mural
Cabbage Mural
In February a member of our Big Local Partnership expressed an interest in seeing more public art across our area, and yesterday we finalised a mural as the first step in that journey.
Arches Local commissioned renowned artist WOSKerski (Dawid) to artistically respond to a list of local stories and, as can be seen, he chose to respond to the story of Cabbage Island.
Little is known about the exact origin and boundary of Cabbage Island, but it represents Luton’s historic role as an agricultural area, predominantly growing cabbages. The term was repopularised in 2017 by Icon Theatre in their efforts to celebrate the hidden history of Luton.
Creative licence was key from the outset and as such Dawid portrayed the story of Cabbage Island in a unique way by painting a cabbage that returned to Luton along with a team of investigators establishing what exactly happened.
Whilst we were sheltering from Storm Ciaran, Dawid ran a workshop at Luton Primary School, where he outlined his career as an artist and gave the children a painting challenge of their own. As a parting gift to the school, Dawid painted one of his famous pieces, a fried egg.
If you have a wall or a local story you’d like to be considered in future murals, please get in touch!