Iconic centre to transform County Showground
Comments |
_m.jpg "Detling showground")
by Trevor Sturgess
The home of the Kent Show at Detling is to be transformed
in two phases into the Kent Event Centre (KEC), offering conference
and exhibition facilities suitable for a massive event such as the
Motor Show or a more modest wedding reception.
The first phase, costing around £1m, involves gutting the
Stanley Cornwallis Building and replacing it internally with a
flexible space for conferences, meetings and wedding
receptions.
The project will be funded from society reserves and bank
loans.
In the second phase, costing around £6m, the entire Kent Pavilion
complex, including the Astor Pavilion, will be demolished and
replaced with an "iconic" conference, events and a rural education
complex.
Hadlow College is teaming up with Kent County Agricultural
Society, the owners of the 200-acre Detling site, and injecting
£2m. Work on this phase would start immediately after the 2011 show
and be completed before the 2012 show.
The latest scheme is less ambitious than the original £26m plan
that would have turned the showground into an equine centre and
Olympic training camp.
But the revised plan, designed to safeguard the future of the
loss-making Kent Show, is nevertheless bold for KCAS which expects
a big revenue boost from the new year-round operation.
The economic climate had been stacked against the original plan
and there were no guarantees from the US Olympic equestrian team
that they would use the centre.
KEC would be an ideal venue for car or farm machinery launches,
much bigger shows than can be accommodated at present, as well as
conferences and wedding receptions of all sizes.
Meanwhile, KCAS is setting up two websites, one focusing on the
Kent Show, the other on KEC.
Wednesday, February 17 2010
The KM Group does not moderate comments.
Please click here for our house rules.