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A single planning meeting could change the face of Gravesend, with councillors set to discuss four major development applications on Wednesday night.
Gravesham council's planning committee will come together virtually from 7pm to consider developments which could bring a new sports centre to Northfleet and almost 600 new homes to Gravesend, changing its skyline forever.
Listed first are plans for M-Block in Bath Street, the former Gravesend and North Kent Hospital maternity ward, which has not been in use since 2006, and which developers hope to convert into 115 new homes.
The new development, which some have called to be named in honour of Gravesham nurse Ursilla Sullivan, would include an 11-storey side extension and a new building, dubbed L-Block, ranging from three to six storeys. The recommendation from council officers is to delegate a decision to grant permission to the council's development manager, subject to conditions and the completion of a 106 agreement.
Following that are plans for the former Fleet Leisure and Sports Club in Nelson Road, Northfleet, which closed in 2013 and was gutted by fire in 2017.
The new scheme would see the derelict site brought back to life with a new sports centre including mixed sized football pitches, artificial playing pitches, a new clubhouse, play area, and a car park - and the recommendation of the planning department is to grant permission subject to conditions relating to ecological mitigation.
Also listed is the site known as The Charter, on land currently occupied by Market Square and Horn Yard Car Parks, in what was formerly dubbed Gravesend's "Heritage Quarter" under long-term regeneration plans.
Now being brought forward by developers Reef, The Charter would bring three blocks of flats ranging from three to 10 storeys containing 242 homes.
The recommendation from council planning officers is that the decision is delegated to the council's development manager subject to conditions and the completion of a 106 agreement.
Clifton Slipways is the fourth major development to be discussed and would see the erection of a 23-storey tower and two four-storey buildings, providing 227 homes in West Street, Gravesend, together with restoration of the existing pier and space for start-up businesses.
Permission for the regeneration of Clifton Slipways in Gravesend was originally given in 2016, but work never began, and Quinn Estates put forward revised proposals last year, saying the project could create more than 280 jobs.
Again, the recommendation of planning officers is to delegate the decision to the council's development manager subject to conditions and the completion of a 106 agreement.
In the midst of these huge schemes, councillors will get some relief from momentous applications when they deal with the only other item on the agenda – an application to use two outbuildings in a garden in Wrotham Road as residential dwellings.
The plans have already met with a mixed reception - and prompted Gravesend historian Christoph Bull to call on architects and planners to raise the standard of architecture in Gravesend.
You can follow a live stream of the meeting via the council's YouTube channel at youtube.com/graveshamtv
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