Faversham’s former Natwest and Lloyds Bank eyed up by Loungers and Tenterden-based Bottega Montalbano
05:00, 29 February 2024
updated: 12:41, 29 February 2024
Two banks in the same town are set to be turned into restaurants.
Faversham’s former NatWest, in Market Place, is being eyed up by the Loungers chain, while the old Lloyds in Court Street has caught the attention of bosses behind an Italian deli.
It comes as banks continue to cut their high street offering as more customers go online - with Barclays last month confirming branches at Bluewater and Gravesend are set to shut.
Many across the county have already been turned into restaurants and pubs, such as the NatWest in Maidstone town centre, which was transformed into The Brenchley.
Now the bank’s branch in Faversham, which closed in June 2022, could become the latest Lounge venue to open in Kent.
The parent company, Loungers, has already launched Lounge sites in Deal, Westwood Cross and Sittingbourne. It also owns Cosy Clubs and opened one in a former fabric store in Canterbury city centre in 2022.
Bosses have applied for a premises licence application for the Faversham building and hope to sell alcohol between 10am and midnight, seven days a week.
The opening hours would be between 8am and 12.30am every day, with late-night refreshment between 11pm and 12.30am.
Lounges are described as “informal café bars” and there are more than 200 across the country.
Meanwhile, the bosses of Bottega Montalbano, an Italian deli and ice cream parlour in Tenterden, want to transform the now-empty Lloyds building in Faversham.
Documents submitted on behalf of owner Ana Ionel reveal a bid to gut and rebuild the Grade II-listed building across its three storeys.
Works include installing a dumb waiter and an extraction system alongside new stud partition walls and toilets.
The basement would comprise two private dining rooms capable of hosting eight people each, while the ground floor would have room for 30 patrons.
The kitchen would be located on the first floor next to the existing residential properties in the building.
Potential opening hours for the eatery are not yet known.
Previous occupants Lloyds moved out in August 2021.
Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.
Both Loungers and Bottega Montalbano have been contacted for comment.
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