A bid to build 65 homes on a former gas works site has been deferred and delegated for approval.
Thanet District Council’s planning committee voted in favour by six votes to three for the Northdown Road development in Broadstairs to be approved by officers later this year once an agreement setting out legal terms is signed.
Part of the site was used for gas production from the 1920s to the 1950s, and it was later used as a gas holder site containing local pressure control equipment.
In 2016, the site was included in a larger development plan for 140 homes and sheltered accommodation, but it was refused on the grounds that part of the scheme included land within the green wedge. It was also rejected on appeal.
The latest 65-home plan by The Mocketts Wood Trust Ltd will use the developed, brownfield land and no greenfield site.
The developers state they will pay the significant costs to decontaminate the land, which is contaminated due to its former use. This has already started in part, but requires further work to allow it to be used for housing.
But critics, which includes Broadstairs and St Peter’s Town Council, warn the housing development will lead to over-development, additional traffic on already busy roads and damage to the local environment. Concerns have also been raised about the contamination of the site.
However, the developers say £1.25m will be used to decontaminate the land, that the scheme includes 20 affordable homes and there would be an ecological area and public open space, including an eco-pond.
St Peter’s Green councillor Mike Garner says he is disappointed at the decision to approve the plan.
“This is not a suitable site for development for a number of reasons,” he said.
“The site is currently capped with concrete with no clear understanding of the contaminates beneath although we do know that there are two outlets releasing methane into local fields.
“The access to the site via Northdown Road is also totally inappropriate. At one end a narrow railway bridge and at the other the already over congested Church Street.
“I am also extremely concerned that if development progresses on this site it will lead to the whole strip of farmland across the back of Mocketts Wood, St Peter’s churchyard and Dane Court Gardens to Dane Court Road being given permission for development.
“This would be a totally unacceptable incursion into the green wedge between Broadstairs and Margate and needs to be resisted.”
A separate petition has been set up calling for the leader of Thanet District Council to look at improving safety at the junction of Westover Road and Northdown Hill, near to the development site, by installing double yellow lines.
It warns that the additional housing will increase traffic using the junction.
To see the petition click here.
To see the full housing plans click here and search reference OL/TH/21/0774.
Absolutely ridiculous ,not the site for development giving the already congested roads in the area
I am not sure if TDC realise how toxic former gas holder sites can be. Gases like hydrogen sulphide, methane and carbon monoxide can all form poisonous complex compounds and tars and bituminous slurry all pose long lasting problems. Next time any of you get the RS1 into St Pancras, have a look at the gas holder there. Too toxic to ever build on – just has a massive concrete cap in perpetuity.
The St Pancras gas works site has two of the original gas holder bases used to build blocks of flats, using the original lattice steelwork of the original holders.
And Ramsgate’s new Aldi is built on the site of an old gasworks.
So, indeed, remedial work can be undertaken.
https://www.dezeen.com/2018/02/22/wilkinson-eyre-and-jonathan-tuckey-convert-kings-cross-gasholders-into-luxury-flats/
Absolutely correct, they’ll build anywhere to meet Government requirements and this proves it. Have these people actually seen this area and the dangerous rail bridge? If you have a large rear garden don’t risk going on a 4 week holiday, you’ll come home to find a bungalow in it.
Again back plan one home maybe have 2 cars no room to park they build all them home and they do not think about the cars that park around it at all all looking nice on paper
It’s a brownfield site so what’s the problem? I live near the Ramsgate ex-gasworks site , and that is due to have housing built on it- how is this other site any different?
Absolutely
People moan about building on farm land and now they mian about build on brownfield site.
What they really mean is I have a house so sod you lot !
That’s exactly the situation.
NIMBYism at its finest.
Brilliant news!!! Something positive for working people and families. Hopefully prioritising 1st time buyers and those in need. Im sure it will have the toe twitching silver hair crew moaning about not in my back yard. 😊
They are already building on the one at Margate and they have built a supermarket on the one at ramsgate,
As for the “gasses and stuff” in the ground the built homes on the old tip site where they buried rubbish at minster years ago.
Only thing i would say is on top of the decontamination works, maybe a deal should be struck with network rail to widen the bridge there over the tracks?
No thanks. Build them in Inverness!
Great news. Let’s just hope they’re affordable and not 200k rabbit hutches.
Surely this is positive? A brownfield site, currently not used for anything productive being turned into housing, which is much needed, rather than building on farmland? Can someone tell me if I’ve missed the point here?
£19,000 being added to the cost of each house purely for the cost of decontaminating the land ?
20 of the houses will be ”affordable” ?
I can only wonder how much the other 45 will be priced at to make the profit for the developer . . .
While I’m OK with building on that site, something clearly needs to be done to ease the non-stop traffic nightmare in St. Peters. Surely there is SOME way of bypassing it?
Maybe they should build a new bridge over the rail tracks on northdown road, one suitable for two lanes of traffic, and make the estate a left turn only to come out of it?
There is plenty of room there to improve that bridge.
I’m not over-familiar with the area, but as far as I can recall the BIG problem is traffic getting from the Reading Street end to the roundabout towards ASDA (and vice versa). I’m guessing it would be near impossible to bypass this. A shame, as St. Peters has the potential to rival St. Nicholas as one of Thanet’s most attractive villages.
Stop using private cars.
Be part of the solution, not the problem.
I don’t drive, and never have done.
Just today, we walked from Birchington to Sarre (via Minnis Bay, Shuart and St. Nicholas) and then got a bus home.
Yes demolish st Peter’s ,only joking,build a nice expensive bypass and give now need something else to moan at
I read this article and it is appropriate for the subject:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/22/residents-demand-new-clean-air-rules-for-former-gasworks-sites-in-england?fbclid=IwAR0BpyFzWgAfkNkDUFoVitnT2gYvqNjo2sgfSX64KGXWHNpnUKWI73AQiHg
The former Gas Works in Westgate has been developed with residential houses on for many years.
The former Gas Works in King Street Margate is due to be developed with exploratory works being carried out now.
The former Gas Works in Ramsgate has and possibly is still being developed on.
Why shouldn’t the St Peters site be developed.
This and all of the above were derelict sites for many years with potentially hazardous materials dumped on by residents.
As long as the site is cleaned -un like the Margate Site in Margate- properly there should be no issues.
Agreed. Rather build on them than on farms.
Since construction traffic,heavy plant etc cant acces over the weak ndown rd bridge,they’ll have to trundle thru st peters village and thru the bottleneck….Great planning k.c.c still what would they know being mikes away in Maidstone