THERE are fears that the last part of a former Royal Navy Dockyard still used by large vessels may be closed to be turned into homes.

Closure of Chatham Dock, the commercial shipping basin, would mean the end of an era stretching back to 1557, when the naval dockyard was established.

Chatham Dock occupies one of three basins of the former naval dockyard and has been handling 500 vessels and a million tonnes of cargo each year.

There is also a 140-acre dock estate, with a number of commercial and industrial tenants and it is not clear what would happen to them.

Chatham Dock was recently acquired, along with the rest of Medway Ports, by an investment company. Since then, Peel Holdings has been in discussions with the council about allowing "super-flats" to be built there.

But the cabinet decided to block high flats or apartments, saying only a cultural building or a "Use of Public Importance" could justify a high building in that area. A report to the cabinet revealed that Peel Holdings had argued for high buildings of six or more storeys to be allowed on its land.

Council advisor Martin MacKay has considered the suitability of the site for high buildings but advised the cabinet: "The focal point for high buildings along Gillingham Waterfront should be at the proposed mixed-use centre around Gillingham Pier – the former Akzo Nobel site.

"The Port is not considered suitable as a strategic location for high buildings."