The new owners of a 200-year-old building, set to be converted into 27 homes, have revealed their plans to turn it into social housing.

Proposals to transform Custom House in Gravesend town centre into a mix of townhouses and apartments were approved at the end of last year.

Permission was granted to convert it into 13 flats while the coach house, outbuildings, and the old boathouse will become townhouses and a new three-storey building will be built to create 27 homes in total.

As part of the plans, the southern part of the workshop building and corridor link at the first-floor level between the house and outbuildings will also be demolished as they are of no historical value.

Landscaping work will create amenity areas for future residents and there will be 15 car parking spaces.

Gravesham council officers said it would offer a “modest but not insignificant” contribution to the local housing need while redeveloping a historic site.

The applicant, Mile Property Group, which bought the Grade-II listed building in 2021, said the major development would bring the historic building back to life.

Speaking previously, company director Michael Keckes added: “The building had been empty for nearly five years and it was running into disrepair and was not bringing any value locally.

“We are looking to change that and leave the site in a better shape than we found it and add value to the local neighbourhood.”

Construction work was expected to start earlier this year but never got under way.

It has now been revealed the building with the associated planning permission has been sold for £2 million to the Pinnock’s Charity, which provides social housing including almshouses.

In the original plans, no affordable housing was going to be provided as it was said to be “unviable”, however, the new owners have said the entire scheme will now be allocated as social housing.

It is expected to cost an additional £6 million to redevelop Custom House.

General manager Emma Pannell explained the charity was in a position to purchase the site with money awarded from grants and a small number of donations.

She said: “We are incredibly proud to be in a position to do this and provide this for Gravesham.

“We are in a position to help some of these people and want to be able to help even more. It has been prompted by the housing crisis.”

The Pinnock’s Charity has provided almshouses - unfurnished homes which provide accommodation for eligible beneficiaries - in Gravesend for the past 400 years.

It offers housing to people in need who have usually lived in Gravesham for at least 10 years, who can live independently, are eligible for housing benefit and are on the council’s housing register.

Gravesham council currently has 902 households on its housing register.

The charity has 67 homes at its St Thomas’ Almshouse on the corner of Old Road West and Wrotham Road.

With Custom House, it will have an extra 27 homes which will hopefully provide around 65 bedrooms, doubling the number of residents it can house.

Emma said: “There was a change in thinking and looking at what else we could do. If the charity can do it, then it will be the right thing for Gravesham.”

Steve Orme, who is chief officer at the charity, added: “It looks stunning. Why can’t we turn it into social housing?”

Steve said this scheme was part of the organisation’s plans to become one of the biggest almshouses in the country and help more people including families and first-time buyers.

He added: “We should be trying to meet the needs of Gravesham to provide more social housing.

“This is important. It will run forever because that is our objective. It will be for social housing as long as the charity exists.

“We are not going to stop at Custom House.”

Construction work is now set to start in September and it is expected to be completed by the end of 2025 to the start of 2026.

The historic building, in The Terrace, was built by the King’s Office of Works in 1815-16 and served for many years as a base for HM Customs and Excise Service.

It then became the office of HM Revenue and Customs before it closed in 2018 and has been vacant since then.