Today, those trades continue to flourish amongst a ‘mixed use community’ where traditional skills such as ship building and carpentry sit alongside 21st Century innovations in digital communications.
The Historic Dockyard is now home to almost 100 businesses of all sizes, from large enterprises to sole traders and provide direct employment for skilled and non-skilled labour, making a very positive economic impact on the local economy.
The range of historic buildings and the location itself appeal to companies that want to connect to the history of the site and it is therefore unsurprising that a number of businesses have connections with the maritime industries.
Premises available to rent range from single offices suitable for one or two people to larger office suites and large industrial spaces and storage buildings, and as such appeals to a wide range of companies. We are also proud to work with Basepoint Centres who manage The Joiners Shop on site. This acts as an incubator space for a number of start-up companies and offers flexible accommodation in a serviced environment with an emphasis on the creative sector. Indeed, over the years The Historic Dockyard has gained a reputation for supporting and encouraging the creative industries – a number of whom have moved into larger premises within the site.
It is a testament to the attraction of The Historic Dockyard that a number of companies and individuals have remained with us for several years, with some being resident on site for over 20 years. Over the years, the occupation levels of our properties have always been near to 100% and the turnover of tenants has been very small, something that we are very proud of especially when viewed against the economic history of the past few years and compared to other locations in the area.
Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust welcomes the news that museums and visitor attractions are able to reopen to visitors from 4 July.
We are actively planning to welcome visitors back to the Dockyard as soon as we are safely able to do so but this will be some time after 4 July.
We will make a further announcement to confirm the exact date as soon as we can.
In the meantime, much of Dockyard life has never stopped. Master Ropemakers has started operating again and we are taking forward bookings for filming, group travel and hospitality, including weddings. Call the Midwife Official Location Tours will resume shortly.
We would like to thank all our visitors for their understanding during this challenging period.
Last updated: 25 June 2020
