A 25-gun salute, a new exhibition and cheap admission prices will be the highlights of a party to celebrate the quarter-century of Chatham's Historic Dockyard.

Visitors arriving between 10am and noon on Wednesday will be able to purchase a 12-month ticket at opening day prices of £1 for adults and 50p for children.

Normal admission prices will apply to afternoon visitors.

Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust has organised an exhibition of its work over the last 25 years which will be opened by housing and planning minister Margaret Beckett.

It uses photographs from the trust’s collections to explore the past, present and future of the historic dockyard.

It illustrates how it has turned a derelict former military industrial site into the thriving community it has become today with

112 homes, 100 small businesses and around 150,000 visitors a year at its maritime heritage attractions.

Following the official opening, visitors are invited to enjoy birthday cake and a glass of bubbly while they browse the exhibition on the mezzanine floor of 3 Slip – The Big Store.

The 25-gun salute will be fired at noon, made up of three Second World War guns fired by soldiers wearing army battle dress as worn during the Second World War.

Meanwhile, council leader Rodney Chambers says Medway has moved on from the “devastating” closure of Chatham Dockyard in 1984.

About 7,000 workers lost their jobs when the dockyard gates closed for the last time.

Cllr Chambers said: “The closure of the Royal Naval Dockyard brought about the loss of thousands of jobs.

"This was a devastating time for the area.

“However, this area is tough, resilient and resourceful and it is because of this that Medway has managed to move on from this period.”

Since the closure, said Cllr Chambers, the Historic Dockyard had developed into a major tourist venue. St Mary’s Island had undergone successful regeneration and Chatham Docks was thriving.

He also referred to major growth at the Medway City Estate, university expansion, the Thames Gateway regeneration programme and major infrastructure work in central Chatham.

He added: “In fact, during the next few years, the whole area will be transformed. We aren’t just 25 years on from the sad and traumatic closure of the dockyard, we’re many miles down the road towards regenerating the whole of Medway.”