Archaeologists start work at Dover Beacon site

An education campus and business centre are planned at the Dover Beacon redevelopment

Archaeological works have started at the Dover Beacon project site, a location "central" to the town's history, say experts.

Canterbury Archaeological Trust, which is leading the work, said it expected to find deposits from Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval eras.

Dover District Council (DDC) has been awarded a total of £21.3m from the government to transform the brownfield site on Bench Street.

Initial work, drilling bole holes to take core samples, started last week.

The Dover Beacon project aims to regenerate an area of the town centre, formerly home to "derelict, eyesore buildings", says the council.

The plans include a new creative and digital studies education campus, as well as a business centre with affordable facilities for start-ups.

To make way for the building, both The Funky Monkey, a former nightclub, and the Banksy building have been demolished.

The council said the Dover Beacon will deliver more than £90m of economic benefit to the area.

DDC has been awarded £3.2m from the government's future high street fund and £18.1m from its levelling up fund for the project.

'Complex history'

Archaeological works including the excavation of trenches and trial pits are expected to be completed at the end of May.

Mark Houliston, commercial director at Canterbury Archaeological Trust, said the site had "potential" given its proximity to the port, which can be traced back to Roman times.

He said medieval cellars had been at the site and the land had a "complex history" spanning through Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods and the Middle Ages.

"All those deposits can be expected there," said Mr Houliston.

He said archaeologists are now trying to understand what is at the site, before they work with the council and developers to "limit the impact" on it.