The Site

Location

The Northfleet West Sub Station is located in the southeast corner of Eastern Quarry and immediately north of the A2, close to the town of Swanscombe in Kent. This area, known as Kent Thameside, forms part of the Government's Thames Gateway proposals.

Current Use

The site is currently home to three electricity sub-stations and a network of electricity pylons. The remainder of the land is used for farming. Work has now begun to decommission much of the sub-station equipment on the site and a timetable for the full programme of works is being prepared. This will include the removal of two of the three sub-stations, together with a number of pylons and power lines. One overhead powerline has already been taken down. Once the works have been completed only a small sub-station will remain to the south of the site. This creates a tremendous opportunity to regenerate the site

The Thames Gateway

The Thames Gateway is an area identified by the Government in its Sustainable Communities Plan as capable of accommodating major growth over the coming years. It stretches eastwards from the Isle of Dogs in London to Southend and the Isle of Sheppey. The whole of the Thames Gateway is seen as capable of accommodating 120,000 new homes and 180,000 new jobs.

Kent Thameside

Kent Thameside is one of five priority areas in the Thames Gateway identified for long-term sustainable economic, social and environmental regeneration. The area covers the boroughs of Dartford and Gravesham with a focus on the urban area located between the River Thames and the A2.

Kent Thameside covers 22 square miles and includes the town centres of Dartford and Gravesend, a new PFI hospital at Darent Valley and a number of large scale strategic brownfield regeneration projects such as Eastern Quarry.

Ebbsfleet International, the new international and domestic railway station, opens for international services in November 2007, and will eventually link the area to London in only 17 minutes when domestic services commence in 2009. The area also benefits from motorway routes linking it to London and Europe, and the Fastrack network, which will link the regeneration sites with existing town centres and public transport connections. These excellent transport connections make Kent Thameside an ideal location for growth.

The Kent Thameside Delivery Board was formed in October 2003 and is the organisation responsible for bringing together the public and private sectors to drive forward regeneration in the area.

For more information on the work of the Delivery Board and other projects in the Kent Thameside area visit www.kt-s.co.uk.

Eastern Quarry and Land Securities

The Northfleet West Sub Station forms part of the larger Eastern Quarry site. The remainder (and larger portion) of the site is owned by Land Securities who are bringing forward separate proposals for the redevelopment of their part of the site.

The site is subject to a Planning Brief adopted by Dartford Borough Council in July 2002. The Planning Brief defines how the site as a whole should be developed and can be viewed at www.dartford.gov.uk/services/planning/plan_briefs.htm.

Dartford Borough Council’s Development Control Board recommended that outline consent for Land Securities’ Eastern Quarry application be granted in July 2007.

Both Land Securities and National Grid must work within this framework as they draw up their proposals for their respective parts of the site. National Grid's and Land Securities' plans are therefore separate but complementary. National Grid has worked hard to ensure that its masterplan is compatible with Land Securities' plans.