From the Dover Express, 17 July, 1977.

£5 million development scheme welcome, but...

TALKS ARE to be held between representatives of Dover District Council and an architect for a London company to make more acceptable a new £5,000,000 development planned for the Market Square at Dover with stores, shops, rialto-style malls, and a multi-storey car park near York Street.

Details of the latest plan — just one of many that have been produced in the last five years — were outlined to members of Dover District Council’s planning committee this week.

Although, generally, councillors found the plan "imaginative" they pointed out a number of features about which they were not happy and decided to set up a working party of councillors and officials to try to overcome these with the architect.

Points to be considered are:

Access into the 600 car multi-storey car park, at present planned via Worthington Street and Queen's Gardens.

The foundation levels, to reduce damage to the rich area of archaeological remains.

To lessen interference with the forecourt to the Roman Painted House museum.

Materials to be used on the York Street frontage of the development.

The siting of a proposed pub-cum-restaurant, planned for New Street.

The latest scheme — revealed in the Dover Express three months ago — is submitted by Amalgamated Developers Ltd. (Projects). Architect Mr. Frank Risdon detailed the development to councillors at a public committee meeting.

The development consists of rialto-type malls with murals, leading into nearly 14,000 square metres (nearly 150,000 square feet) of retail development, a car park for 600 cars, public lavatories, the demolition of the "Prince Regent" public house in the Market Square and a new pub with restaurant facilities off New Street.

There will be a department store on two floors, a super store of 50,000 square feet on the ground floor, and two smaller stores, plus four smaller shops.

One feature of the development is that a large area will be slabbed over so that archaeologists can continue their search for Dover’s historic past while trade is in progress in the shops above.

There is the possibility that the Roman bath-house system, parts of which have already been located, could be linked underground with the Roman villa now encased in the mini-museum ofl New Street.

The area of the proposed development covers three acres and is bounded by Queen Street, York Street, New Street and the back of the shops in the main street.

The 600-place car park would be on three storeys facing the Market Square and on four-storeys facing York Street.

That would bring it as high as the Maybrook office block now being slowly occupied in York Street. Lifts would take shoppers from the multistorey park down into the shopping area.

Access to the multi-storey car park would be up a ramp in New Street — already built as part of a previous abortive development — and the exit would be via Queen Street.

SHOPS PLAN SEEN AS THREAT TO DOVER'S NEW TOURIST ASSET.

MEMBERS of the Roman Painted House Trust — who look after the interests of Dover’s latest tourist attraction — are angry at proposals by the developers to build on part of their brand new £5,000 forecourt.

They believe it could slash the growing number of tourists who find their way to the villa with its painted walls.

The trouble is the forecourt is on land owned by Dover District Council and leased on a temporary basis to the Trust.

News of the proposal to build on part of the forecourt came as a "Bombshell" to the Trust, said its chairman, Councillor George Ruck, who is a member of the council’s planning committee.

The proposal to build a new Whitbread Fremlin’s pub — to replace the "Prince Regent" — would reduce the width of the forecourt to 19 feet, said Mr. Ruck.

The idea is for a new-style public, house with refreshment facilities such as a restaurant and tea rooms.

Archaeologists are also concerned about the level at which the development will be built. It is claimed the proposed level would destroy much of what remains of the Roman remains near Dover’s town centre, and much of the foundations of St. Martin le Grand.

"This will be a bitter blow to the archaeologists who have worked so hard," said Councillor Mrs. Jane Du Boulay, also a member of the Trust.

And another member of the Trust, Councillor Harold Dennard, reminded colleagues that £50,000 of ratepayers’ money had gone into the construction of the cover building over the painted house.

These points will now be discussed by the architect and officials.

Another worry is the problems that will be created by vehicles getting into the car park via Queen’s Gardens, off Worthington Street.

And the long horizontal facade of the multi-storey car park along York Street, and its facing material (a light coloured stone has been suggested by the architect) will also be discussed.

The planning committee decided to defer further consideration of the proposal until talks have been completed.

Maybrook Properties, who own much of the land, won outline planning consent for shops, offices and car parking for the same area in 1972. Amalgamated's plan does not include offices, but makes provision for an office block at a later stage.

The latest proposal also includes the use of the frontage of the Market Hall, protected by a State order for preservation.