Monday 21st September 2026
The new roof is taking shape! The crane remains in place at the front of the building to lift the new roof beams from the garden, where they were lifted to last Monday, into position.
Monday 14th September 2026
The big day has arrived – the huge crane required to lift the new roof beams over the main building and into place, turned up. There was a road closure to get the crane into position, and also to accommodate the truck delivering the roof beams (being delivered from Exeter). We caused quite a stir, with lots of people stopping to watch operations – such a massive crane was definitely a novelty on the small streets of Faversham!
Friday 11th September 2026
Preparations outside for the siting of the crane. The crane to lift the roof timbers into place is due on Mon 14th September, and it will sit partially on our paved patio area, and partly on the road. Therefore the ground it will sit on all needs to be levelled. As this area will go right up to the bottom of our ramp access, the contractors put in a new temporary ramp to access the building from the other side of the porch.
Wednesday 12th August 2026
Things are changing fast at The Alex! The roof is officially gone, and the transformation of our main hall is well underway. Take a look at the demolition work in action as we move towards the next stage of the building’s future.
Stay tuned for more updates as the work continues!
Friday 7th August 2026
The new flooring going down in the bar area. Thanks to Alfie and his team from AD Flooring, based in Faversham, for doing a great job! Home – AD Flooring Kent
Monday 20th July 2026
Work is well underway on the dismantling and removal of the pitched roof of the main hall.
Friday 3rd July 2026
As the contractors prepare to start work, internal scaffolding has been installed to allow for the safe removal of the roof.
Thursday 4th June 2026
The flooring in our bar area was taken up last weekend. This is because there was so much water in this area from the fire-fighting activity, that the concrete sub-floor was showing high levels of moisture, which would cause damage and mould to the flooring in future.
To allow this sub-floor to dry out before the new flooring is fitted, a carpet has been laid temporarily – this is a permeable covering to allow the floor underneath to dry out. Whilst some think the carpet looks quite smart, it is not a practical solution long-term, so will be replaced in a few weeks with lovely new flooring.
Wednesday 3rd June 2026
It is now confirmed that Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent has all gone through.
The construction works have been out to tender too and now all proposals have been reviewed. We are delighted to announce that the main contract of work has been awarded to Foxbury Construction – a local company, based in Sittingbourne.
Tuesday 14th April 2026
Further to the fire on New Year’s Eve which rendered the main hall at The Alexander Centre out of action for the rest of this year, the Board of Directors of The Alex, and the Trustees of The Assembly Rooms have been in conversation about The Alex using the Assembly Rooms as an alternative venue to accommodate many of their activities and events.
Since the fire, The Alex, which had bookings for every weekend throughout 2026, has been relocating events to other local venues around the town. There has been comedy in St Mary’s Church and the Abbey School, comedy and music in The Old brewery Store and theatre in the Arden Theatre. The Assembly Rooms has also accommodated numerous events as well as regular exercise classes and groups. We’d like to extend our thanks to all these local venues for stepping in – often at short notice – to work in partnership with us on this.
Since The Alex and Assembly Rooms are such close neighbours, it made complete sense for the Assembly Rooms to become a temporary home for The Alex. Therefore from 13th April, The Alex took over the running of The Assembly Rooms for the rest of 2026, and into early 2027. The Directors of The Alex are grateful to the Trustees of the Assembly Rooms for their collaboration on this. The team at The Alex very much look forward to populating that lovely space and working with the regular users and hirers of the building.
Photo: Graham Setterfield (Chair of the Board of the Alexander Centre CIC) and Alasdair Nicolson (Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Assembly Rooms) signing the Lease for occupation of the building.
Friday 10th April 2026
We are pleased to report that the Planning Application, Listed Building Consent and Building Control applications, have all now been submitted to Swale Borough Council. The Alexander Centre Directors have been in communication with Swale Borough Councillors, the Swale Conservation Officer and Faversham Town Councillors, so we hope the approval process will be expedited as much as possible (within the constraints of regulatory consultation periods of course).
February 27th, 2026
The contractors have now completed the strip out of the hall, back to brick – so it is now an empty space with blockwork walls and concrete floor.
The planning for the rebuild is well along the way with conversations being had with the architects, Mechanical and Engineering consultants, Acoustic Engineers and theatrical technical advisors.
Whilst the process is generally to reinstate the building on a like-for-like basis, the Board of Directors are working towards improving facilities wherever possible and providing a venue for the town that will be future-proofed and sustainable.
Update January 15th, 2026
Following the fire, construction teams are now on site and have begun stripping out the hall. The main building has been fully sealed off from the rest of the venue, allowing us to continue thorough cleaning and sanitising. Our front rooms remain fully operational and are available to hire for meetings, workshops, and smaller events.
New Year’s Eve Fire – Overview (January 5th, 2026)
On New Year’s Eve, a fire occurred at the rear of Gatefield Hall, The Alex’s main large events space. The fire is suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault. Thankfully, no one was in the venue at the time, and there were no injuries. We hope to share future developments here on this page as they happen.
Main Building & Heritage Areas
We are pleased to confirm that the main building and heritage areas of The Alex were largely unaffected by the fire. These areas are now operating as normal where possible, and we are happy to welcome customers back into these spaces.
Gatefield Hall (Main Events Space)
Our Gatefield Hall is currently unavailable while essential safety checks, assessments, and remedial works are carried out.
Bookings for 2026
If you have an event or tickets booked in Gatefield Hall, our team is reviewing all upcoming bookings as a priority. We will contact you directly with specific information about your event, and options may include rescheduling, relocation, or refunds where applicable.
We will also be updating individual event listings on our website as and when we know more, so please check online for the latest information regarding your booking.
How You Can Help
As always, the best way to support and help fund The Alex is by continuing to book and attend our incredible lineup of events across the building. Your visits, ticket purchases, and ongoing support make a genuine difference and help ensure we can continue delivering a diverse programme for our community.
While not all events will be able to take place here as originally planned, we are working hard to make this process as clear, straightforward, and supportive as possible for everyone affected.
We would like to sincerely thank everyone for their understanding, patience, and continued support during this time — it truly means a great deal to us.
To return to our What’s On page please click HERE
