Plans have been submitted to transform a disused court and former police station into a co-working space for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Dartford Magistrate's Court in Highfield Road, on the corner of West Hill, shut its doors for good more than three years ago.

Since then the building – which also hosted a former police station dating back to 1872 – has started to rot and decay.

Now a planning application has been submitted to Dartford council putting forward proposals to revitalise the site and bring it back into use.

If approved it would pave the way for the building to be re-purposed as office space for up to 120 entrepreneurs or small business owners.

The plans are spearheaded by London-based Rehoboth Property International which says it will refurbish the existing court rooms and police cells, adding a cafe and meeting rooms.

It will also include a single story extension to provide for disabled wheelchair access.

This the developers say will bring more jobs into the area for local people and businesses, as well as providing a flexible space for young entrepreneurs to collaborate.

Rehoboth CEO, Sanmi Adegoke said the project would turn "trauma into triumph" by putting a disused building back into community use.

He said: “This is a great opportunity to bring the former magistrates court building back to life and increase the affordable co-working provision for local people.”

“The proposals have been through a number of design iterations to ensure it is respectful to the local heritage, but also to bring the site back into use for local people, as quickly as possible.

"Our focus is to create a design-led quality development that will boost the local area in terms of the economy, employment opportunities and the community.”

But the planning application will not progress until a proper "archaeological assessment" of the site is carried out.

It follows a recommendation by Kent County Council senior archaeological officer Casper Johnson that no development take place until those features are "properly examined and recorded".

In his submission to Dartford Council he said: "The proposals would appear from the available evidence to have a relatively limited impact both to the historic building and below ground."

However, he noted vital information was not included and in other places was "incorrect and lacking in details".

Since the court's closure in 2016 cases reaching this level have been transferred to Medway Magistrates' Court 17 miles away.

It meant there is no longer a magistrates court service in either Dartford or Gravesend, whose bench closed 19 years ago.

The move formed part of the Ministry of Justice's plans to shut poorly used and expensive-to-run courts across England and Wales.

Figures from from HM Courts & Tribunal Service showed the service was used at 30% capacity in its last year at a cost of £213,000 to the public purse.

Details of the planning application and comments can be submitted at publicaccess.dartford.gov.uk

Dartford MP Gareth Johnson expressed his disappointment at the time, which he said would mean longer journeys for those attending court.

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