Our Proposals
National Grid submitted an outline planning application
for the sub-station site to Dartford Borough Council on 31 March
2005. The application can be viewed at Dartford Borough Council
offices and the Council's Planning Service can be contacted on
01322 323232.
You can also view the application online on Dartford Borough Council’s website: click here.
Further information and a revised masterplan were submitted to Dartford Borough Council in June 2007.
What does the Planning Application consist of?
The Planning Application is made up of a series of documents. These include:
- A Planning Statement - this summarises the technical planning issues relating to the application
- An Environmental Statement - this provides a detailed assessment
of the environmental impact of the plans with specific reference to transport, ecology,
landscape and noise, and includes a design statement
- A Non-Technical Summary of the Environmental Statement. To view
this please click
here.
- A Consultation Assessment - this summarises the pre-application
consultation activity undertaken and analyses the results of the consultation. To view this please click here.
National Grid's plans for Northfleet West Sub-Station site
are explained below in more detail. Click on these links to find more:
The MasterPlan, Housing,
Business and Employment Uses,
Transport and Open Space.
The Masterplan
National Grid has recently submitted a revised masterplan for the regeneration of the site. The key components of the proposals remain unchanged but the layout has been altered to move the proposed primary school which is now adjacent to the town square at the centre of the development and closer to the Fastrack stop. These changes were made in response to feedback received during Dartford Borough Council’s statutory consultation on the planning application.
The vision is to create an urban village linked to the neighbouring communities of Swanscombe and Greenhithe and the rest of Eastern Quarry. It will be designed and built to the highest standards and will include housing, local shops, employment space for small business, a hotel and substantial public open space.
The principles of environmentally sustainable development are key to our plans.
The scheme has been designed to encourage the use of public transport, cycling and walking and has extensive open spaces for all to enjoy.
Initial Masterplan (March 2005)
Revised Masterplan (June 2007)
A full range of residential accommodation is proposed, which has been designed to meet the needs of modern living. There will be
up to 1,500 dwellings comprised of a mix of houses and apartments, with a large proportion of family sized housing. Approximately 30% of the housing will be affordable.
The density of the housing will vary throughout the site:
The higher density housing will consist of apartments and will be located within close proximity to the Fastrack stop to encourage the use of public transport.
The medium density housing will be located slightly further away from the Fastrack stop and will include a mix of apartments, townhouses and other types of housing.
The lower density housing will be located towards the southern perimeter of the site and will be made up of larger detached and semi-detached houses.
Up to 10,000m2 will be designated for employment space. The business units will be aimed at small businesses and are likely to take the form of office accommodation. In line with the principles of sustainable development, this will be located close
to the Fastrack stop to encourage the use of public transport. The office units will occupy the ground floors of some apartment blocks and there may also be some standalone office accommodation.
Some 2,500m2 of retail space will take the form of small local shops designed to cater for the needs of those living in the village. Again, this will be located close to the Fastrack stop occupying the ground floor units of the apartment blocks.
A hotel is also proposed for the southeastern corner of the site. This
may have other facilities, such as a restaurant and leisure facilities, that
would benefit the residents of the
site and the wider community.
These different employment uses will provide several hundred new and varied jobs. Further jobs will also be created during the construction period.
With regard to public transport facilities, National Grid will
provide a section of the Fastrack scheme and a Fastrack stop will be located close to the higher density residential accommodation and business units
at the north of the site to encourage people to make use of the service. In addition,
National Grid will be funding improvements to existing local bus services which serve the towns of Swanscombe and Greenhithe.
Vehicle access to the village will be via two roundabouts
off the new dual-carriageway to the east of the site. These will allow traffic to either go south to access the A2 or north to Swanscombe and the local road network.
A network of footpaths and cycle ways within the site will link into planned and existing routes.
The village will be made up of 33% open space in line with the 'green grid
policy'. This policy aims to create a high quality network of accessible open spaces across North Kent, linked by footpaths, green corridors and parklands.
National Grid's plans provide a high quality landscape setting that creates a pleasant environment for all. The open space provided in the scheme includes a two hectare park at the heart of the scheme and a number of greens dotted throughout the residential areas.
|
