The Bench, a four-storey development on Bench Street just off Dover’s Market Square, has been handed over by builders Jenner Group to Dover District Council, moving the approximately £21 million project into its fit-out phase ahead of opening.

Residents of Dover district will soon see a new creative, education and business hub take shape beside the River Dour, after Dover District Council announced that contractors have completed the main shell construction of The Bench and passed the building over to the council. The move marks the shift from heavy building work to internal fit-out by the three organisations that will occupy the space.

The building is the centrepiece of the Dover Beacon regeneration project, which draws on about £18.1 million from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund — money set aside to address regional economic imbalances — plus around £3.2 million from the Future High Streets Fund and additional Dover District Council funding. The council says the project is expected to deliver over £90 million of economic benefit to the district through jobs, skills and wider town centre investment.

Three tenants are lined up to move in once fit-out is complete. East Kent College Group will run an Arts Education Campus focused on creative and digital learning. Screen South, a creative sector organisation, will operate a Creative Centre for film, media and arts activity. And the East Kent Spatial Development Company will provide a Business Start-up Centre offering affordable, flexible office space for new and growing local businesses.

The council promotes the scheme as a way to diversify Dover’s economy beyond its heavy reliance on port-related activity, and to bring new footfall and investment into a town centre that has struggled in common with many coastal high streets. The Bench site also includes new public realm and open space alongside the River Dour, along with plans for a riverside parklet and an expansion of the local bicycle hire scheme.

But the project has not been without broader questions. Critics of Levelling Up-funded schemes — nationally, if not always locally — have argued that flagship buildings can end up as isolated landmarks if they are not backed by sustained funding for the organisations inside them and connected to wider improvements in housing, transport and incomes. Detailed formal objections specific to The Bench are not well documented in available council records, though some residents and businesses in the Bench Street area have experienced disruption from site works, access changes and construction traffic since archaeological investigations began in April 2024.

Those archaeological works wrapped up in October 2024, followed by enabling works and then main construction. The handover means the heaviest external disruption should ease, though internal fit-out will keep contractor vehicles on site for some time yet. The council had originally forecast completion around spring to summer 2026.

The Bench sits within a wider picture of planned investment in Dover reported at around £475 million — a figure cited by the council in briefings but not consolidated in a single official financial statement. That total includes a separate £45 million awarded to Kent County Council in 2023 for Dover Access Improvements, aimed at reducing congestion on roads leading to the Port of Dover.

Residents wanting updates as the fit-out progresses can sign up to Dover District Council’s “Keep me Posted” service and select the Dover Beacon project as their topic of interest.

Key information

  • Stay updated: Sign up to Dover District Council’s “Keep me Posted” service and choose the Dover Beacon project topic for construction and opening news
  • Construction queries: Contact main contractor Jenner Group directly for site-related questions or emergencies during the ongoing fit-out phase
  • Opening timeline: Internal fit-out by tenants is now under way; the council originally indicated the building would be operational from around summer 2026