Mark Quinn reveals new drawings of site on former Herne Bay golf club
Published: 00:01, 02 December 2018
Revised drawings for a controversial 93-home site on the former Herne Bay golf club have been revealed.
Developer Mark Quinn, of Quinn Estates, has already had two bids to build on the land rejected by Canterbury City Council.
The first was an ambitious scheme to build 119 flats – with about 20 costing just £100,000 – on Eddington Park.
A second application to build 97 on the plot was submitted to the local authority earlier this year, but that, too, was rejected.
Mr Quinn says he has abandoned hopes of building the £100,000 homes and estimates the cheapest in the latest bid will be at least £50,000 more expensive.
“I think it’s a shame the original scheme for micro-flats wasn’t allowed,” he said.
“I think it would have addressed a real need within the area to get young people on the housing ladder. This time, the cheapest one will be about 50% more expensive – it’s not what I wanted to do.”
The development will be spread over seven two and three-storey blocks, as opposed to the eight applied for earlier this year, while there will also be almost 3,800 sq m of office space and a food store.
“We’ve changed the scheme after many months of hard work with the council,” Mr Quinn continued. “We think we’ve now got a scheme that works for us and the council supports. We’ve put in more houses and fewer flats, which we don’t think is the right thing.”
Mr Quinn has submitted a separate application to make alterations to the pavilion at the neighbouring sports hub in order to ensure its eligibility for grants from the Football Association.
The proposals also include plans to build a gastro pub, which the developer promises “won’t be a standard Marston’s or Greene King”.
“The people we’re talking to are from a niche gastro-pub company,” Mr Quinn said.
He is hoping to get a response to both applications from the council by the end of March.
Read more
Herne BayMore by this author
Jack Dyson