A new M&S food store and BP service station could replace an empty hotel which has been shut for nearly two decades.

The Tollgate Hotel, along the A2 near Gravesend, could be set for a new lease of life after closing in 2006.

It has been subject to several controversial plans to knock down the eyesore and transform it into something new since it shut with the most recent proposals seeing food giant M&S and BP team up.

Both have asked for people’s views on a new service station and “flagship” EV charging hub.

The Tollgate Hotel, which is found north of the eastbound entry slip road on the A2, was previously used as a hotel and restaurant before part of it was demolished to allow construction of a new slip road.

Now, electric vehicle charging company BP Pulse wants to knock down the remaining buildings to develop a service station which would have 24 EV charging bays, a petrol filling station, and an M&S Simply Food store and Wild Bean Café.

BP Pulse revealed it is currently thinking about making the development, if approved, from brick rather than timber.

If given the go-ahead, it would provide another food choice for Gravesend residents and create up to 30 jobs.

A website outlining the proposals says: “The scheme has been carefully designed taking into account the character of the surrounding area and the site’s green belt location, and includes large areas of landscaping and biodiversity improvements to soften the visual appearance of the development and ensure it fits harmoniously within the immediate context.”

BP has created a questionnaire about the plans.

It asks if people support the development of the site, if they support EV charging there and if they support the gas giant’s proposal for the land.

Detailing why it thinks the project would be positive for Gravesend, BP says it would be a £10 million investment in the area for the “replacement of a dilapidated, vacant building with a high-quality, well designed and sustainable development”.

In 2020, KentOnline revealed more than £220,000 had been spent on security for the hotel over a four-year period between 2014 and 2018, including a security guard and electric equipment.

The previous year, controversial plans to knock down the 114-room hotel were discussed at a Gravesham council meeting in September.

At the time, almost 1,000 people objected to the proposal for the 2.5-acre plot, off Watling Street, which would have seen the hotel torn down.

However, approval was rescinded due to the potential for the site to come back into use as a hotel.

Plans for the development have been scuppered numerous times since its original application.

In 2014 and 2015 a larger-scale scheme, which would have seen a McDonald’s drive-thru and M&S Food court built alongside the garage, were approved by Gravesham council before its decisions were quashed on appeal.