A housing developer has redrawn plans for hundreds of homes after concerns for fire safety were raised.

Purelake New Homes and Skilcrown Homes had originally submitted a joint application seeking permission to build 568 flats on land surrounding Crayford dog track, near Dartford.

It includes a mixture of blocks, ranging in height from six storeys to eight storeys.

But the plans for the former Electrobase site off Maxim Road, which were submitted to Bexley council in July, have now been altered on the recommendation of the London Fire Brigade service.

Fire officers advised that all apartment blocks built now at over 18m high – or with seven or more floors – should have two staircases for escape purposes. Eight of the planned buildings did not comply.

The developers have now submitted amended plans with two staircases in the relevant blocks, which has meant a reduction in the total number of flats from 568 to 559.

At the same time, the applicants have made further adjustments to respond to criticisms made by the Health and Safety Executive and by Bexley planning officers. These include the internal re-organisation of the common areas so that ancillary spaces are not accessed via escape corridors.

Some flats sizes have been increased and privacy screens or solid brickwork returns have been added to the scheme to prevent overlooking into adjacent windows.

In all, a total of more than 200 new drawings and evidence documents were submitted in the last week of January.

The scheme is for a site covering 7.19 hectares, to include a former Sainsbury's car park and an area of open wood or scrub-land known as Crayford Rough.

However, development will only be on the previously built brownfield part of the site, and the four hectares of open land — which are registered as a site of importance for nature conservation (SINC) — will be handed over to Bexley Council, following enhancement works to improve biodiversity.

Part of the problem with the site is its potential for flooding from the River Cray, which runs alongside the north west border of the plot. The River Wansunt, a tributary of the Cray, flows through part of the site, which lies in a zone 3 flood risk area.

The development proposes only 225 parking spaces, but will provide 1,054 cycle spaces.

If permission is granted, the developers hope to start work in November this year with completion by January 2028.

It was previously granted permission for 359 flats in April 2016, which were never built.

The current application can be viewed on the Bexley council website here, under application number 22/01564.

The developers have their own website giving information about the plans here.

The application has so far attracted 38 letters of objection with many residents concerned about the increased traffic with the entrance to the site seeing traffic head out onto the already busy Roman Way, at the junction with Aldi.

Concerns have also been raised over the number of parking spaces provided.