Councillors to discuss plans to demolish former Westgate church to make way for offices and flats

New design (Kentish Projects)

A proposal to demolish a former church in Westgate to make way for a new build office space and flats will be discussed by members of Thanet council’s planning committee next week.

The application from developer Kentish Projects asks for permission to flatten St Peter’s Church and Presbytery and replace it with commercial offices for a new headquarters for Miles and Barr Estate Agents (ground floor) and an additional 14 one and two-bed apartments on the first, second and third floors, with associated parking, access and landscaping.

The application has been amended from a previous proposal – which included 21 flats -following concerns over the design of a four storey, flat roof block.

The amended design is for a three and four storey building with an office at ground floor and flats on the first, second and third floors. The proposed building comprises a four storey central block, two three storey wings set back from the central section and a single storey flat roof rear projection.

The building would have a pitched roof design with a central gable feature to the front elevation and pitched roof dormers to the front side and rear elevations.

St Peter’s Church and Presbytery in Westgate

The church, on Canterbury Road, was constructed in 1963, first opening in 1964. It has a nave and Lady Chapel with sacristy room sited on either side of the nave, and baptism and repository areas each side of the main entrance.

A proposal previously approved in June 2018 provided for office use on the ground floor of the existing church building, with a boardroom on mezzanine above, in the vaulted void.

But the current application is for a new build on the site. The application states: “Following further investigation of the costs of conversion and the limitations on the floorspace layout operationally for the end user Miles and Barr, the benefits of a new purpose a revised proposal for a purpose built office in terms of energy consumption and running costs and preferred layout for optimum working practices were identified.”

Permission would mean Miles and Barr could relocate from its current rented premises at Discovery Park in Sandwich and provide 65 jobs – 35 existing and 30 new.

But there have been objections, and a petition with 19 signatures, citing concerns at over-massing and the increase of traffic entering and exiting the site on to the A28 Canterbury Road, as well as fears that the build will impact on neighbouring grade II listed Summerlands Lodge.

An objection from CPRE Kent  to the initial version of the plan says the new build “would not respect or enhance the surrounding area,”  “would not protect existing trees” and “would not preserve or enhance the Westgate Conservation Area.”

Margate Civic Society has objected, saying: “ The anticipated daily vehicular movements into and out of the site at such an incredibly vulnerable point on the A28 and directly adjacent to an extremely busy crossroads are quite unthinkable.

“Indeed, the site being so closely situated to the crossroads and on a dual carriageway, how is it to be explained that access into the site from Birchington and exit from the site towards Margate can be achieved in any remotely safe manner?”

Westgate Town Council has also objected.

In a report to councillors the planning officer says: “Whilst a number of objections have been received regarding highway safety, the proposal is achieving a safe access with adequate visibility splays, and adequate off-street parking provision.”

The initial plan proposed the removal of nine trees from the site, none of which are currently subject to a tree preservation order (TPO). The amended plan retains one additional tree and proposes the planting of ten new trees on the site.

The recommendation to councillors is to defer and delegate to planning officers for approval subject to conditions. The planning meeting takes place on August 5.

Developer contributions

£4660 towards the Strategic Access Management and Monitoring (SAMM) plan to offset the potential impact on protected birds at European designated sites from increased visitors from the district to these areas

£18,116 is proposed towards a new secondary school,

£5,288.92 towards new secondary school land,

£229.88 towards additional equipment for Margate Adult Education Centre,

£917 towards additional equipment for Margate Youth Centre,

£776.30 towards additional library bookstock,

£2056.32 towards specialist care accommodation

£1298.08 towards waste services.

The last days of St Peter’s Church and Presbytery

The final Sunday Mass at the building before closure was in July 2014 and since then the building has remained  empty.

The decision to close the church was made because the cost of repairing and maintaining it was not considered economically viable.

The church had capacity for up to 400 parishioners but in the preceding years before closure, numbers had dropped to around 60-65 per week.

The Benedictines owned the site and when they moved from St. Augustine’s Abbey, Ramsgate to Chilworth, Guildford in Surrey, the Diocese of Southwark ran the church.

Both the Diocese and the Benedictines as freeholders, looked internally at a range of possible uses before disposal could be authorised. The Benedictines have a significant estate and the decision to dispose of the church and its grounds was not taken without very careful
consideration of the long-term interests of the church.

The Benedictines made the final decision to dispose of the church and its grounds.

14 Comments

  1. The concerns regarding traffic have not changed. The number of deaths at the traffic lights and the speed of traffic (especially Motor Bikes) will make this area even more dangerous. Considering the amount of traffic leaving the development. 60 employee’s with a potential of 60 vehicles let alone with the number of residents vehicles will make this area even more dangerous

  2. Offices?
    Post Covid office space is irrelevant. People will be working from home. The Covid situation has speeded up the progress to working on line from home. Change the empty retail units in the High Street to offices and build more viable one bedroom living units on this space.
    Environmentally and Economically working from home is the new norm.

    • You need JOBS before you build offices and flats, leave the church alone, who makes these decisions what numbties.

  3. There are a few snags with home working,my main concern in many cases the home worker does not have to be in this country. Remember call centers ? operated from parts of the world where labour is cheaper.

    Hopefully companies will show good will and retain Uk workers and make the transition to homeworking seamless.

    yes,build 1 bedroom flats sell them to owner occupiers only (tdc could help £) put in a condition they cant be rented out dont sell them to landlords.

    1

  4. The church has been closed since 2014, would the tree huggers rather look at a building crumbling down or a nice new office / flats on the site. It’s a pity the bribe money that developers have to give to councils to gain permission to build anything these days could not go to replacing the traffic lights with a roundabout. I would suggest that the tree huggers go into the woods for a long over due picnic and planning permission be given. The protesters are complaining about the movement of traffic in and out of the site yet when the church was open it had provision for up the 400 members attending services, albeit in the later days that was down to 60 / 65. The same numbers who potentially will work in the M&B office. By the time it’s built we will have a vaccine for Covid 19 so all those who have enjoyed working from home
    can get back to proper work and start feeling human again. It’s a wonder anything ever gets improved or built with some constantly trying to put in objections.

  5. Why can’t these developers employ an architect with flair and imagination instead of this souless, bland, aesthetic desert of a design. Especially in such a prominent position. Surely they can’t have any ambition if they’re happy for this to be part of their legacy?

  6. It’s all done on the cheap then sold for top dollar. Developers are only interested in the colour of money. Why cut mature trees down and replace with saplings? Very bland indeed.

  7. The only thing impacting on summerlands Lodge at this moment in time is summerlands Lodge. When are the council going to address this issue. How the council and this developer can be allowed to leave this building in this condition for five years beggers belief.

  8. I fully agree John, the non development of this building Summer lands is scandalous. The owner of the building had a lot of ideas at the beginning then nothing has been done other than a mess . Has the money gone elsewhere on other jobs or is there any money left.
    Tree huggers love to protest if anything new is being planned yet we don’t hear a peep from them if buildings are left in ruins.

  9. The company who own Summerland are land banking the buildings are in a poor condition they are just sitting on them waiting till they can demolish the building

  10. Cram them in…..Lego land utopia with a nice BIG fat back hander for you know who. Artless, lacking in any aesthetic design quality…..let’s just build a glorified box and fill ’em up. ..to MAXIMISE our profits!!!.Miles and Barr’s speciality. Beautifully done souless cubes of urban sprawl!

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