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Kent's #10YearChallenge - How the county has changed in the last 10 years

It is the latest craze to hit the internet in recent weeks and people across the county have been posting their pictures of what they were doing 10 years ago.

If you've been anywhere near social media over the past couple of weeks, no doubt you'll have come across the #10YearChallenge.

If not, where have you been? The idea is simple, you have to post a 2009 picture of yourself next to a recent snap of yourself showing how much you've changed.

How KentOnline looked in 2009
How KentOnline looked in 2009

Millions have taken part in the craze and are using the hashtag to show people how much they have changed.

Here's a look at how some of the people and places in Kent have changed over the last decade:

Dreamland Margate

In 2009 the site was closed and in a state of disrepair and was initially set to be redeveloped for housing but a campaign was launched to restore and reopen it to its former glory.

It opened in 2015 and it was hoped to run the amusement park as a combined traditional seaside funfair and a working museum of vintage funfair rides but the operating company became insolvent in 2015. It has continued to operate under administration and a second refurbishment and relaunch was staged in 2017.

Dreamland has been transformed
Dreamland has been transformed

Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury

The story of the Marlowe Theatre began just before the First World War, when a small theatre opened in St Margaret’s Street.

In 1949 the city council bought the building and the Marlowe was born, but around 30 years later it was declared bankrupt and demolished.

The council then bought the Odeon Cinema in The Friars and converted it into the second Marlowe Theatre, opening in 1984 at a cost of £5m.

After 25 successful years, the second Marlowe Theatre closed for a complete makeover in March 2009.

It reopened in October 2011, with the former building being completely transformed and the new building holds an audience of 1,200 and has a separate studio for intimate gigs and workshops.

How the Marlow Theatre has changed over the years
How the Marlow Theatre has changed over the years

Woolworths

It's been 10 years now since "The Wonder of Woolworths" disappeared from town centres up and down the country.

For many, a trip to the store, which formed an integral part of the High Street furniture, holds fond childhood memories, none more so than in Chatham

It became a weekly treat to pop along and scoop up your pick 'n' mix sweeties or cut price broken biscuits.

In Medway there were four branches of the iconic store in Chatham, Strood, Gillingham and Twydall making it the largest concentration of Woolworths in the county.

The one in Chatham's High Street is now another well known brand - Primark.

The Woolworths building in Chatham is now a Primark store
The Woolworths building in Chatham is now a Primark store

Maidstone United Football Club

Players at Maidstone United FC were playing in the Isthmian League at Ashford Town's Homelands ground in 2009 and were suffering huge financial woes.

However, the team are are now two tiers higher in the National League playing in their own, fairly plush Gallagher Stadium off James Whatman Way in Maidstone.

Maidstone FC now have their own stadium
Maidstone FC now have their own stadium

Rochester Riverside Development

In 2009 Rochester Riverside was just brownfield land which was in the process of being flattened to make way for houses.

The riverside area is now a flagship project of Medway Council's regeneration programme and the site stretches from Rochester Bridge to the north and Doust Way to the south.

Currently flats and houses are being built on the site and eventually there will be up to 1,400 new homes there when it is complete along with shop and restaurants.

The site will make a huge contribution to meeting local housing need, with 25% of new homes earmarked as affordable.

In total, more than 10 acres of new open space will be opened across the project, including 2km of riverside walks and the first wave of new homes is expected to be completed in the first quarter of this year.

Rochester's Riverside area has changed
Rochester's Riverside area has changed

Dartford Crossing

There have been lots of changes to the crossing over the years including overnight crossing charges being removed in 2008 and in 2014 the Dart Charge is introduced at the Crossing, which reduced congestion in the area.

Instead of stopping at a barrier to pay the crossing charge drivers pay online, by phone, post or in any of thousands of local shops across the county.

In 2016 a consultation was held on proposals for a new Lower Thames Crossing which is set to be built east of Gravesend by 2027 at a cost of more than £6 billion.

The Dartford Crossing has changed somewhat during the last 10 years
The Dartford Crossing has changed somewhat during the last 10 years

The Harbour Arm, Folkestone

The Harbour Arm has been totally transformed from a derelict industrial site to a equipped to handle imports and exports, as well as being the terminus for Folkestone’s cross-channel ferries.

For decades very little or no maintenance was carried out on the stone wall or the structures which stood on it.

Folkestone Harbour Company took ownership, but the harbour’s infrastructure had deteriorated to the point where much of it was unsafe.

Following the change of ownership a new purpose and vision was proposed the area and the seafront, and outline planning permission was agreed in early 2015 and saw the rejuvenation of the area.

It was plan conceived by world-­renowned architect Sir Terry Farrell.

The £ 3.5 million project saw the wider harbour and seafront area and after exten­sive work, to right the damage caused by many dec­ades of neglect and the battering from storms, it is now access­ible and vibrant and people can enjoy leisure time and more.

The Harbour Arm has been totally transformed
The Harbour Arm has been totally transformed

The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury

The cricket ground is the home of Kent County Cricket Club and since 2013 has been known as The Spitfire Ground.

It is one of the oldest grounds on which first-class cricket is played, having been in use since 1847, and is the venue for Canterbury Cricket Week, the oldest cricket festival in the world.

Development of the site was announced in the summer of 2009 and has transformed it to a multi-use venue as well as somewhere to live as the next year the club confirmed Bellway would be its housing partner for the redevelopment project.

Work started in September 2010 on developing the ground and Five permanent, retractable floodlight pylons were installed in the 2010-11 off-season and the dressing rooms were refurbished and redeveloped.

Land behind the Pavilion was sold to Bellway in 2011 and in March 2012 a new Sainsbury's Local convenience store opened.

This faces out of the ground and occupies the ground floor of the new club administration building alongside the Lime Tree Cafe inside the ground.

In 2013, the club announced it wanted to build 60 retirement flats on the northern side of the ground and construction started 2016 and was completed by the start of the 2018 season and the ground is now also used for a number of music concerts.

It has also been used as a venue for the Canterbury Festival and a firework display is held there on Guy Fawkes Night.

The ground has been transformed and people can now live there as well as enjoy a number of events (6696929)
The ground has been transformed and people can now live there as well as enjoy a number of events (6696929)

Ann Widdecombe

In 2009 Ann Widdecombe was still a run of the mill Conservative MP Maidstone and The Weald until 2010 when she retired.

Since 2002, she has made numerous television and radio appearances and has become something of of a cult celebrity figure.

She has also done some television presenting and has appeared on Celebrity Fit Club, has hosted, Have I Got News for You a couple of times, and in October 2010, she appeared on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, partnered by Anton du Beke, who could forget Anton hoisting her in the air during a Paso Doble.

She also made her debut at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford in 2011 in the Christmas pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, alongside Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood.

Ann appeared on Celebrity Big Brother last year as a housemate and was the first to enter the house during its 21st series.

She was a controversial figure in the house but finished the series as runner-up.

Ann Widdecombe has gone from MP to cult celebrity figure
Ann Widdecombe has gone from MP to cult celebrity figure

James Jordan

Ballroom Dancer, James Jordan was born in Gillingham, went to school in Chatham and rose to fame on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing along with his wife and fellow professional dancer, Ola.

His life has changed somewhat since he left the show and in August 2014 he took part in the fourteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother.

He finished in third place and even returned for the all-star 19th series, where he was evicted in 13th place.

Last year he appeared alongside his wife, Ola, on Comedy Central's Your Face or Mine?

However, he's now using his dancing skills on the ice as he is currently starring in Dancing On Ice.

James Jordan has gone from Strictly Come Dancing to Dancing on Ice
James Jordan has gone from Strictly Come Dancing to Dancing on Ice
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