Clarendon Royal Community

Age UK Medway expands its service provision to the Clarendon Royal Hotel in Gravesend, offering a broad range of care and support services to more local communities in Kent and furthering our aims to reach more people to help them Achieve Life’s Fullness

Age UK Medway are pleased to share with the local community that we will shortly be entering into a long lease for a significant building in Royal Pier Road, Gravesend, Kent, known locally as the Clarendon Royal Hotel, to expand our service provision and offer a broad range of services and care to help reach a larger and more diverse community to Achieve Life’s Fullness.

Over the coming months, the hotel will undergo a gradual change from its traditional use, to become a thriving community hub, incorporating extra care housing for over 55’s with an existing or anticipated care need, valuable respite bedspaces, which will be used to help ease “bed blocking” pressures in local hospitals, and a thriving hub of activities on the ground floor for the resident and non-resident local communities.

John Norley, Group Chief Executive, says:

“We have of course been on-hand to speak to staff and existing hotel residents about how the changes will affect them.  We hope that by working closely with the hotel owner, we can minimise the change and disruption to current staff and residents, but acknowledge of course, some disruption or change will be unavoidable as the hotel is transformed into the Clarendon Royal Community. 

In preparation for the project, we have already reached out to the local authority social care commissioning teams, other voluntary sector organisations and the local health trust, to ensure that everyone can contribute to and benefit from the changes.

This service will meet the growing need for appropriate and high quality housing for older people in the area, as well as much needed respite spaces for those capable of being discharged from hospital, but with a short-term support need in place, or for those whose carers are stretched, and desperately need a break from their day-to-day caring responsibilities.

In addition, the project will offer a high end restaurant, for use of the public and our residents, a fully licenced bar/café and the existing function room space will be utilised for day-time opportunities and functions aligned with the needs of the local communities.”

Age UK Medway intend to celebrate and preserve the valuable position that the Clarendon Royal Hotel has held in the local community for over 100 years, and further enhance this through our new scheme, honouring the legacy of the Clarendon building and securing it as the heart of the local community in a new and effective way.

When the community hub is fully operational, Age UK Medway will be employing around 50 people, and offering lots of opportunities to the community for volunteering, work placements for those in education and potentially additional apprenticeships.

Age UK Medway has a deep history of service provision across all the Medway towns, offering a broad range of services and care which help older people and adults with learning disabilities Achieve Life’s Fullness, and already have a strong presence in the Gravesend area as many people from the Gravesham choose to come into Medway to take up services and support.

This new scheme will allow the charity to reach even more people through its well-established services, mirrored in the Clarendon Royal Community and welcome a new group of beneficiaries in the area - into safe, stylish and suitable accommodation which supports their needs now, and as those needs increase through later life.

Les Woollends, Director of the Clarendon Royal Hotel, says: "This is the best thing that could happen to the area. This is really an incredible thing.  This is a project that will benefit all the residents of Gravesham and it will benefit everyone in the area for years to come."

Age UK Medway envisage a thriving community space, which meets a range of needs, and importantly, helps integrate diverse communities under one roof, through common need, common interest and a common zest for life.

Over the coming months, we will be recruiting for various positions for this new exciting project, some of which are live on our website now. Keep an eye on our website to stay up to date with the latest vacancies and news. For more information and details about the new services available from the new financial year, please keep an eye out on the Our Services section of our website.

Age UK Medway: Ensuring all older people and adults with learning disabilities across Medway and Kent are supported to Achieve Life's Fullness.

For press enquiries: 

Email - comms@ageukmedway.org.uk 
Tel - 01634 572616