The Tollgate Hotel is to be turned into a BP petrol station and a McDonald’s, the Messenger can reveal.

The 114 room hotel is due to be demolished to make way for the drive-thru restaurant, with car park, and a 16 pump petrol station, complete with a shop.

There will also be two pumps for HGVs.

There will be 25 car parking spaces with two for Blue Badge holders at the petrol station while McDonald’s will have 52 parking spaces with two for disabled drivers.

The Highways Agency bought the hotel under a compulsory purchase order in November 2006 for £4.85 million.

Since then it has been empty with access to the site, off the roundabout that leads onto the A2, blocked off with concrete bollards.

For several years it was offered for sale and marketed as a site suitable for continued hotel use.

Back in 2011, under regulations of the compulsory purchase, the Highways Agency had to offer the 114-room hotel back to its original owners.

They did not meet a two-month deadline but another bid was accepted and, until now, remained a secret as to who had purchased the site.

The restaurant is likely to employ 65 staff.

Deliveries of stock to McDonald’s would roughly be three times a week. The petrol station expects one delivery each day for both petrol and stock.

Although the site is designated green belt, developers argue that because it has already been built on, it is a special circumstance.

The existing BP garage next to the site is expected to close down.

Meanwhile, land earmarked for a hotel in nearby Coldharbour Road remains up for sale.

Permission to build a 60-bed hotel, next to the Toby Carvery, was given last year and is being marketed but has so far yet to attract a buyer.

A decision on the petrol station is likely to be made by Gravesham council early next year.

Meanwhile, City commuters who use Kings Ferry coaches to get into London could soon be able to hop onboard at the Cyclopark.

At present, Kings Ferry provides a stop at Bean, which is used by about 50 passengers.
However, it remains “contentious with the commuters” as all services have to come off the motorway to serve it.

It is argued only a few of the coaches actually pick up or drop off passengers.

A spokesman said: “To serve the stop generally is around an eight minute trip but this can escalate to 45 minutes around Christmas due to traffic demands at Bluewater. The stop is also served on the homeward leg and again this can add between 10 and 45 minutes in the evening.”

The company hopes a new stop at the Cyclopark, and the use of its car park, will provide secure parking for cars, something that remains a concern with the ad-hoc stop in Bean.