A town centre café forced to close because of flood damage will not reopen.

The Café Nucleus Lounge in Chatham, part of a successful award-winning chain of businesses across the Medway Towns, will remain shut.

The eatery and community hub in Military Road closed last November for repairs caused by water damage in the basement.

But now after careful consideration, managing director Aaron Sergejenkovs Telford has decided that as the café was on a flood plain he could not risk the likelihood of it happening again.

The businessman also wants to focus more on the core of the Nucleus ethos of dining and galleries.

He said: “The café is more like grab-and-go and perhaps a little alien to the Nucleus family.”

The businessman has revealed he has set his sights on a new exciting project in Medway which, at the moment, he is keeping under wraps.

He said his new venture would be similar to his other establishments in Rochester at the former historic Conservancy building, and in Rainham where he has converted a distinctive whiteboard old solicitors office.

Nucleus also has a café tucked away off Chatham High Street which has been described as a “hidden gem”

The Military Road business opened in September 2013 and has recently undergone a £50,000 refurbishment along with an expanded menu.

The unit opposite the Pentagon shopping centre is leased by the Halpern Charitable Foundation which founded Nucleus Arts in 2002.

Nucleus Arts Centre opened in Chatham as a space for local artists to develop and display their talents.

Since then it has grown into an award-winning arts and community base at the forefront of the cultural regeneration of the Medway Towns.