More than £1.6million has been secured to transform a brownfield site, which was formerly a BT storage depot, into 85 new homes.

The scheme will see the land at Milton Place, in Gravesend, redeveloped to provide “much-needed” affordable housing for those on Gravesham council’s register.

If approved as currently proposed, the project would deliver 70 affordable apartments for people over 55 years old, and 15 houses for home ownership.

According to the local authority’s register, 138 households over the age of 55 are waiting for a one-bedroom property, therefore the new flats be allocated to those on the waiting list or who are already in a council house and want to downsize.

The land at Milton Place, which consists of the former storage depot, a council-operated car park, a skate park, and an open space, has been earmarked for development for several years.

It has a varied history and once featured a church, a school, a playground and Gravesend Lido which closed in the 1980s.

As part of the housing scheme, the existing car park will be reduced and reconfigured to provide 80 spaces, new vehicle access will be created from Milton Place with a new junction and the skate park will be kept.

However, as the scheme is still in its early stages, the details may change when the planning application is submitted later this year.

If approved, it is hoped work will start on the site in late 2025.

The project is the first to be proposed by the Gravesham Community Investment Partnership (GCIP), formed by Gravesham council and developer The Hill Group.

The local authority has since secured £1,628,757 of government funding through the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF2) for the scheme.

Cabinet member for housing services, Cllr Karina O’Malley, said: “This award is an important one for our plans on the Milton Place site.

“Working with Hill, we have ambitious plans to speed up the delivery of affordable housing and to bring down the numbers of households on our housing register, who all have an identified housing need and demonstrable links to Gravesham.

“We are already delivering on our promise of building hundreds of new council-owned homes, with our development at Armoury Drive, Gravesend, which opened earlier this year, and work is getting underway on new homes at St Patrick’s Gardens.

“The work of GCIP will run parallel to that programme and will help us make solid in-roads into bringing our waiting list down over the coming years.

“This award is a real shot in the arm for the partnership.”

Thousands of new homes are set to be built as part of the new Labour government’s plans to kickstart economic growth and get “Britain building again”.

Nationally, up to £68 million has been set aside for 54 councils to clear buildings, former car parks and industrial land to make way for the homes.

In Kent, Medway Council has also received £640,000 for 44 homes and Maidstone council is to get almost £1.9million for 107 houses.

The BLRF2 is available for local councils to apply for funding, a process which was undertaken last year, with applications closing in March 2023.

Gravesham Council is still inviting residents to help shape the Milton Place proposals. You can view the plans here.

You have until Thursday, October 31 to submit your views.