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Plans to transform an old gunpowder industrial site into a residential complex with a creekside cafe and sailing club continue to divide opinion.
Developers at Faversham Joinery Ltd are hoping to secure permission for the project in Ordnance Wharf, off Flood Lane, but the controversial application has caused a stir - with nearby businesses, residents and heritage groups among those objecting to the development.
More than 170 people have so far submitted their thoughts on the proposals, with the majority of them raising concerns.
But others suggest the site is an “unloved, ugly eyesore” in need of renovation.
Should the scheme be given the go-ahead, seven homes will be built on the redundant land along with a boat-building workshop to train apprentices in the joinery trade.
The site has stood derelict for 30 years and previously played a key role in the town’s long history of gunpowder manufacturing.
Historic England has now shared its concerns and stressed how the site’s historic character needs protecting.
“We disagree with the applicant’s report which notes that the site ‘contributes little if anything to the conservation area in its own right’, it says.
“We think that open character and, in turn, the significance of the Faversham Town conservation area, would be harmed by the proposed development as it would no longer be possible to appreciate that aspect of the wharf’s historic character to the same extent.”
In contrast, West Street resident Bill Turner believes the town should not pointlessly hold onto strands of lost history and ruin a chance to breathe life into the dilapidated site.
“We need to acknowledge and respect that history, but Ordnance Wharf ceased to be associated with the gunpowder industry 150 years ago and its existence is beautifully remembered in Stonebridge Pond and the gentle stream in Flood Lane,” he said.
“The inheritance left by the gasworks and oil drums is not one of beauty. In the 16 years since I have lived here it has been an ugly eyesore, unloved and rubbish strewn and screened by unpleasant, graffiti-festooned fencing.”
“By all means, let us have a plaque or a figurehead that points to the past but let us not pretend that it can magically come into ownership that will preserve it as a public space or a place for barge repairs.”
Developers say the “only point of historical significance on the site is one stone step which leads from the wharf into the creek”.
They stress the step would be retained and left undisturbed should they gain planning permission. They also say trenches have been dug in recent years, and upon inspection, nothing of significance was found.
