Eye-catching pictures have been released to show how a town’s improved waterfront could look – with new office buildings and open green spaces planned.

The computer-generated imagery has been drawn up by the Port of Dover and shows how the promenade along Waterloo Crescent and opposite the beach will be transformed with play areas for children and stepping stones leading through grass walkways.

A second image shows how land once used by De Bradelei Wharf shopping centre – demolished in October 2023 – could be converted into a new commercial quarter, with offices to house both port employees and others engaged in port or maritime-related activity.

The plans are part of the next phase of the ambitious redevelopment scheme for the waterfront, following on from the £250 million Western Docks Revival project.

The next stage is being referred to as the Port of Dover 2050 project and is expected to cost millions of pounds. An exact figure has yet to be revealed.

But in total, a staggering amount – almost half a billion pounds – is being invested in Dover across various projects, with the hope of improving the town and its vibrancy.

This includes the transformation of The Citadel, the Dover Beacon project for Bench Street, Dover Fastrack, the restoration of the Maison Dieu, and upgrades to Dover Discovery Centre.

The cash for each project has come from various sources such as the government's Levelling Up Fund, the district and county council and private companies such as the port.

When KentOnline visited Dover this week, residents we spoke to had mixed feelings about the investment, with some saying they would like to see more of a focus on improving the struggling town centre.

Others questioned whether it will make any difference to the town and increase tourism.

Penny O'Brien, from Buckland, remembers a time when the high street was full of shops and crowds of people.

The 76-year-old, who has lived in Dover her whole life, said: “I think they are throwing the money in the wrong places. I would prefer to see it in the town.

“The shops that are in St James Retail Park should be moved into town, and St James should be a sports centre.

“Then if people want to visit for the day, they can use the sports centre then come into town and spend some money.

“Some people don't drive so it is harder for us to get out of town.

“The community projects, like Dover Beacon, could be quite good but more needs to be done to keep people in Dover.”

Andrew Volmer, who is originally from Dover but now lives in Bridge, near Canterbury, says making the most of Dover’s history is key to its success.

He said: “Dover town centre is dead compared to what it used to be but it’s not just Dover that is like this, it happens abroad too.

“There is so much history in Dover, but they need to make the most of it.

“I think the investment is needed because Dover is just as run-down as some places up north.

“If you said to someone in Manchester, ‘I'm from Kent’, people think it is wealthy and rich, but they don't know what they are talking about - it’s a stereotype.”

One of the biggest projects for Dover is the transformation of Bench Street, where a business, arts and education hub will be created, having been given the go-ahead in July.

Several buildings were torn down to make way for the scheme, including the former Funky Monkey nightclub.

Construction is ongoing, and as well as a four-storey building, to be known as Dover Beacon, a public park and improvements to the subway under the A20 are also proposed.

Dover District Council (DDC) says the project – which will cost £24.8 million in total – is set to deliver more than £90 million of economic benefit, bringing investment to jobs and skills across the area.

Construction is expected to be completed by spring 2026 when the centre is set to be handed to tenant businesses.

Some £18.1 million of funding has come from the Levelling Up Fund.

A further £10.5 million is being spent on the 800-year-old Maison Dieu building, in Biggin Street, where work is currently ongoing.

The overall restoration will bring redundant spaces back into commercial use, including restoring the Mayor’s Parlour as a holiday let, and a new café in the space once occupied by Victorian gaol cells.

Once complete, the building will see the Maison Dieu, a former town hall, permanently open to the public from 2025 for the first time in its history.

The library in the Dover Discovery Centre, on A256 York Street, shut in October last year as part of major improvement plans.

It was one of several services in the building set to be improved under a £7.45 million scheme managed by Kent County Council (KCC) and DDC.

The Market Square building is being reconfigured to allow for KCC’s children's services team to relocate.

When Dover Discovery Centre reopens, KCC says it will have a range of new services including adult education, a nursery, an archive and education service, and integrated children’s services. The library is expected to reopen in December.

With all the investment for Dover, Aycliffe resident Albert Bullock hopes it will mean more jobs for local people.

The 76-year-old said: “Dover has lost all its industry. The only industry left is the cross-Channel ferries so anything that can enhance Dover and bring in more jobs is a positive.

“Let's hope everything falls into place. It's about time Dover got some recognition.

“If you walk up and down the high street you will see empty shops so the business rates are too high and there are not enough chances for businesses to get going.

“I would like to see some more help for local businesses especially when they are first starting.

“The new shops in St James have sucked the life out of the town because all the big businesses are down there.

“In Deal there are not many empty shops, there is a nice busy high street with lots of different types of businesses.”

In September, the Roman Painted House in New Street reopened following a £70,000 renovation.

The historic monument is more than 1,824 years old. It was discovered in 1970 and excavated by archaeologists over the following decade.

In a meeting earlier this year, DDC’s cabinet supported proposals to carry out the remedial works necessary to reopen the attraction as part of the town’s wider redevelopment. It is also looking to transform the Roman Bath House and Roman Lawn.

The town’s Market Square has also recently been upgraded with £3.6 million of funding. Four massive rings which are part of a bespoke water feature opened in the centrepiece in August last year.

Other new features include a paved space for performances, more seating and lighting and terraced areas. There have also been highway improvements to make the square more pedestrian-friendly.

The new design is said to improve links between Cannon Street, St James and the waterfront.

DDC leader Kevin Mills (Lab) hopes the investment projects will help attract new businesses to the town centre.

Cllr Mills said: “We still have challenges with the high street. We hope that some of this investment actually rubs off into the high street.

“We've done Market Square - you either love the rings or you don't - but the trouble with the town centre is a lot of the buildings aren't in our ownership so a lot of it is outside of our control.

“What we want to do is work with the owners and the landlords to try and get somebody in those units and improve them, but it's difficult and challenging.

“The other problem is that the high streets will never be the high streets that I remember when I was younger - they're changing.

“But I would hope with all the investment that we see businesses moving up to the high street and see some investment in those areas.”

Cllr Mills hopes the Maison Dieu and Dover Beacon projects in particular will “add vibrancy” to the town.

He added: “The Beacon is more educational and business-focused, which will improve land prices and should give youngsters the opportunity to train and get to study in key fields.

“What we want to try and do, particularly with Maison Dieu and with the Roman Painted House, is to make Dover a point of destination.

“We should be rightfully proud of what we've got but sadly up until now, it hasn't been shown in its best light.

“The investment in Maison Dieu will hopefully make that a venue of choice and a destination of choice and add to the tourist attractions in Dover.

“It's about making it a destination, not a place you pass through. Dover has massive potential and we welcome more investment.

“We want to be able to give youngsters the opportunities to have careers locally.

“What we've got to try and do is tie up the seafront with the town centre because the A20 is an obstruction.

“You go down the underpass, you cross the road, but there needs to be connectivity.”

One businessman who has already invested in Dover is David de Min, who owns The Citadel, a closed-off 18th-century fort, and is planning a £100 million overhaul.

A new cafe has already opened at the site on the Western Heights and more planning applications are expected to be submitted for hotels, restaurants, art galleries and music studios.

Once complete, the project is expected to be called The Little City.

Mr de Min previously said: “I have always seen Dover as a sleeping giant. It has so much potential and there are so many moving parts to Dover itself.

“Being on the doorstep of the busiest passenger port in the world, a lot of people unfortunately just pass through Dover and never see much of a reason to stop, but there is so much potential, and if we can catch even just a small part of that it would be amazing.”

A £149,000 grant from Historic England is also set to help conserve and regenerate the Western Heights over the next three years.

Along with the White Cliffs of Dover, the town is probably best known for its port, and huge amounts of money is being spent on improvements.

The Western Docks Revival is an ongoing project which aims to bring new shops, bars, cafes and restaurants to the waterfront.

Parts of the scheme have already been completed, such as the new Clock Tower Square and Marina Curve which opened in April last year.

A 90-room motel and a swimming pool have also been approved but it is not clear when work on these projects will start.

Now a second phase has been revealed by port bosses, which will include more improvements to the promenade along Waterloo Crescent, as well as the creation of the commercial quarter.

The port has also been helped by a £45 million government Levelling Up Fund grant, awarded last year to ease gridlock.

Another £3.5 million was announced by the Department for Transport in August.

Part of the work includes filling in Granville Dock, to create more space for checks on vehicles for when new the Entry/Exit System is introduced next year.

The idea is to provide space for this to be done on off-road land to prevent severe congestion and delays for port traffic as there are concerns there could be 14- to 15-hour delays.

Other improvements for transport in Dover include the much-delayed £34 million Dover Fastrack.

The project will see electric buses connect Whitfield with the town centre and Dover Priory railway station.

It will begin operating on Sunday, November 17, but bosses say "ultra-low emission" diesel buses will be "temporarily used" until a fleet of five electric vehicles is ready.

KCC is delivering the scheme, which has been partly funded by Homes England, in partnership with DDC.

The proposal includes reconfiguring Pencester Road, which is currently a one-way street, into a contraflow. More than 800 people have signed a petition describing plans as "madness".

In total, more than £475 million of investment is planned in Dover.

What remains to be seen is whether the cash can have a similar transformative effect to that seen in neighbouring town Folkestone, which has undergone a major regeneration over the past 20 years.

Spending on Dover is increasing - but will the town finally be on the up too?