After years of uncertainty, anger, and frustration, Lowfield Street could finally be on the mend as councillors prepare to give the go-ahead to proposals to transform the dilapidated road with apartments, shops, and a cafe.

Residential developer Meyer Homes submitted its planning application for the Dartford site in December after holding public consultations last summer, having bought the land from Tesco in October 2015.

It goes before Dartford council’s development control board tomorrow night and is set to be approved — just a week after multimillion pound changes to other parts of the town centre were unveiled for the first time.

Last week it was revealed the council’s plans for more than five years of extensive development thanks to government funding of £4.3 million and £7.7 million from the Kent Thameside Strategic Transport Programme.

Market Street, Hythe Street, and Lowfield Street are among the sites identified as those with the biggest opportunities for change, with work on the latter aiming to begin this year if the application is successful tonight.

All but one of the existing buildings on the eastern side of Lowfield Street stand to be demolished and replaced with 548 homes, starting with an initial phase nearest the town centre of 188.

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Of those, 104 will be two-bed flats, 56 will be one-bed flats, eight will be three-bed flats, and there will be 20 studio flats. The council asks for 30% of all new homes to be “affordable”.

New access routes into Central Park and the introduction of a microbrewery in Market Square are featured in Meyer Homes’ proposal, and hundreds of parking spaces are also promised.

Jamie Pearson, director of Meyer Homes, said: “We are delighted that the regeneration of Lowfield Street will take another step forward this week.

“We have worked hard to ensure these proposals meet the needs of the local community by bringing forward a world-class development on a site that has lay in waiting for many years.

“Our plans include high quality architecture, new public courtyards and open space, as well as improved access into Central Park.

“We would like to thank all those who attended the consultation events and the role that the local community have played in progressing the plans.

“We will continue to work with Dartford council and local stakeholders in line with the result on Thursday night.”

Tesco submitted four planning applications to Dartford council between 2002 and 2013, but pulled out in January 2015 as part of a nationwide cutback on new and unprofitable stores.

Hoardings replaced the beloved independent shops which have been spruced up by Dartford Arts Network, but the site remains a blight on the town.

Meyer Homes is hopeful of completing the entire project towards the end of 2019, which will be right in the midst of the other developments going on in Dartford.

The plans showcased in last week’s Messenger included possible additions in Hythe Street such as shops, leisure and community facilities, and even a cinema and a hotel, with similarly dramatic development elsewhere.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting last week, council leader Cllr Jeremy Kite (Con) said: “There have been a number of false dawns in parts of the town centre, but now I feel much more confident that we are masters of our own destiny.

“I don’t want the past to colour our optimism and I know that the rate of growth is worrying for some. We are aiming for quality, nothing cheap and horrible. We want to respect heritage and embrace the future.

“Our town is now desirable. There’s an amazing number of people interested in buying apartments here. It would be no exaggeration to say this is one of the most popular developments the people working on it can recall.

“We have got to make sure the culture of our town is right. We want people to feel that they want to live here and are really proud to live here. This town deserves, needs, and will have a superb town centre.”

Cllr Kite said the plans — which will be compiled into an easily digestible brochure for public consultation later this year — were the most exciting he had worked on since being elected.

In a bid to make Dartford a better place to visit as well as live, Station Quarter has been identified as a “gateway site”, with small food, drink and retail stores, plus offices, to create an inviting entrance to the town.

Changes here would complement the creation of an integrated transport hub providing easier access between Home Gardens and the railway station, with an increased presence for Arriva’s Fastrack service with links to Ebbsfleet Garden City in mind.

However, the council’s vision for Dartford is one where pedestrians and cyclists are given priority over drivers, with improved routes in Hythe Street, Lowfield Street, Market Street and Spital Street.

Market Street’s disused bus stands will be removed to create a better link between Central Park and the High Street, and improve access to the library and Acacia Hall, which is soon to be refurbished.

Cllr Kite continued: “We took a tour of the Acacia Hall development today (last Thursday) and there were people walking around that you could almost see having a burden lifted from their shoulders.

“I think they were reassured by the work going on there and it will continue to be an open process. I want to involve local members in everything that goes on.”

Footfall at Acacia Hall and Market Street is likely to increase dramatically as a result of the new homes in Lowfield Street, which the council hopes will make for excellent opportunities for traders.

Elsewhere, Suffolk Road and Bulls Head Yard stand to be enhanced by the creation of an open space just south of the Orchard Theatre, which could get new street furniture and a cafe.

All of this forms part of work so far scheduled to take place over the next five years, with the council’s own investment in Acacia Hall kicking things off later in 2017 and to be complete in 2018.

Most of the projects have been tentatively dated between 2018 and 2022, with some even further off.

What do you think? Write to us at The Messenger, 7 High Street, Gravesend, Kent, DA11 0BQ or email us at dartfordmessenger@thekmgroup.co.uk.