Plan for 17 flats above and to rear of Ramsgate’s Peacocks store

The build would run from the Peacocks store area up to the corner of Hardres Street (Images google and Knight Architectural Design)

A proposal to create 17 flats by converting a store room and staff facilities above Peacocks shop in Ramsgate and building a part five storey part two storey extension at the rear of the shop building and 5 Hardres Street has been submitted to Thanet council.

Peppercorn Investments Ltd has lodged the application to provide three one-bed flats at the current store room area and then another 11 one-bed flats and three 3-bed flats in the extended building.

Images google and Knight Architectural Design

Planning documents state: “The proposed scheme shows the conversion of the first floor at 45 High Street along with the new build development at the rear creating 17 residential.

“The new build development will be within the existing rear car park for the site and remove the current ancillary spaces for the retail. Due to the levels around the site, the rear portion will be a minimum of 1.2m below the first floor shop level.

“ While the council do encourage more houses than flats, this scheme is only incorporating flats as the location and the development is more aimed towards single individuals/couples, not families

“We are proposing to make good of the existing lift on site which will allow for ground floor to top floor access. This allows for 11 flats out of the proposed 17 to be accessible and Part M compliant which is 64% of the development.

“We are looking to incorporate the use of green roofs and green walls. Not only can these be linked into the proposed rainwater harvesting system for the development, but it will also create an additional amenity space on the third floor. Across the development we will also look to incorporate the use of bird, bat and insect boxes.”

Knight Architectural Design

The developer says no affordable units are planned due to viability with a 13% profit margin. There are no plans to provide onsite car parking, only the provision of bike storage and the allocation of one space per flat. Documents say 25 vertical bike rack systems are proposed to allow for a minimum of one space per flat and 8 visitor racks.

The build is in the Ramsgate Conservation area and would run alongside 3 Hardres Street, which is a Grade II listed building, dating back to around 1810.

A decision on the application is yet to be made. It can be viewed on Thanet council’s planning portal, ref F/TH/22/1050.

The plan comes on the heels of another proposal for flats above retail in Ramsgate High Street in an application submitted by JDP (Ramsgate) Limited to demolish 60-68 High Street and 1 to 11 George Street – which comprises the Pilgrims Hospice shop, Sugar Rush, Cats in Crisis and Simply Danish furniture shop.

The proposal is for shops at ground level and 34 one-bed , 4 two-bed and 2 three-bed flats with refuse and cycle stores and external play space.

Uncertain future for businesses as proposal made to demolish and replace Ramsgate High Street building

47 Comments

    • Vehicle parking its possible to purchase an annual season parking permit from tdc, nearest surface car park is £640+ or the multi storey pis&smell with no current lifts is £300+ but has restricted opening times.

      High st properties have many advantages, so many high st fflats have already been built and tdc can get parking funds for those that want a vehicle parked locally.

      Hey good to see an investor wants to make local change, cars are regarded as a luxury while some people are removing the bulbs from their fridges to save some leccy cost.

      The sites mentioned have been on the market for a while, maybe they failed to get levelling up funds or high st funds.

      So up your argos, hun

  1. I thought all new developments had to have parking spaces for all residents ,but TDC ,most corrupt council in UK ,Brown have on the way

  2. Is it really the case that the Town Council encourages the building of houses rather than flats?
    If true(how would I know!?) I think this would be a bit short-sighted. Flat conversions like this take up much less space than houses. They make use of existing buildings, not a greenfield site.
    And large numbers of people now live in one or two person households. The family unit of two adults and ,say, 2 children, is a real minority of current households. But the idea that we all live like that is an outdated myth.
    Think of the millions of older people, widowed or separated/divorced, with the adult offspring long gone to their own place. The millions of younger adults who are separated/divorced. And the younger people wanting their own place away from the family home at last. None of these groups necessarily need a three-bed house.
    But lots of them, especially the older adults, are obliged to stay in the large “family home” as there are not enough small houses or flats.
    The only problem with flats, of course, is the gross rate of exploitation involved in rental properties and the rip-off involved in “maintenance charges” to big companies and institutions.
    But, with the right tenancy/ownership arrangements, many of us would prefer a flat.

  3. I would want a flat think of the noise disruption made by fellow residents ,at least with a house ,it would only be 1 or 2 neighbors

  4. Why would anyone wish to build accommodation with attached parking space? The last thing anywhere needs is more private motor vehicles.
    The twentieth century was The Century of Ownership. The current century will be The Century of Access. If one needs to travel out of town/long distance, one can hire a motor vehicle. If the journey is local, a cycle or scooter is a more appropriate choice. Many cities around the globe have already gone down this route.

  5. I think it is an excellent idea, building on a plot of land that is far from pretty with flats being the right accommodation in this area.
    I know we should be reducing our use of cars but that is not going to happen significantly in the next decade or two, imo, and presents the only downside of the scheme – car parking availability.
    Overall, a good scheme that leaves valuable farmland alone!!

  6. To me, it looks like Ramsgate town centre will eventually, be all housing, and people will need to travel to get their every day needs. With stagecoach cutting services and the need to cut pollution, this seems to be another “good” idea by T.D.C and R.T.C.

  7. You must remember years ago ,when planning permission was given to build Westwood Cross ,TDC, stated they wanted Westwood Cross to be the new town centre for Thanet,and sod the rest of thanet,they could go to rack and ruin,and they are on course for this action

    • Indeed.
      A Labour project, both locally and nationally. In cahoots with the land banking London Labour councils. Along with the massive house building project permitted but never executed off Westwood Rd. We did lose the Ramsgate amenity that was the greyhound track though, for G.L.C. overspill housing.
      The owners of Westwood Cross are the same people who own much of the Crown Estate and provide much of its facilities management.
      Labour in Thanet – “elected representatives” or no – are just agents of their metropolitan masters and mistresses. Nothing they do is for the people of Thanet. The culture they adhere to is a centralised control committee structure.
      As for the T.D.C. Executive. Its connections to the likes of Romans Leaders and Freshwater/Daejan render all its advice to councillors questionable at best.

  8. Ray the Bread is 100% correct. No thought was given to the Thanet businesses in our towns when Westwood X was granted planning permission. We now have unviable town centres . Shops closing each week and banks shutting or reducing their opening hours. Housing instead of shops is the only solution. The only growth appears to be graffiti as every day there are more tags and scribbles everywhere. The High Street ; The Eagle, and Newington Road areas are prime examples. Westwood X seems to escape it 🤔

    • The High Street, Kings Rd and Queens Road has had more new bussiness open in the last 3 months than in the previous 36 months (that covers pre-pandemic period). If you cannot see that then you need to leave your bedsit more often.

      • Kings Road and Queens Road? Not in the centre of Ramsgate! Are you referring to Kings Street and Queen Street? Oh by the way what a silly pseudonym how about publishing under your real name!

        • Both lots, actually. The point stands. You need to leave your bedsit more, walk around town and notice all the businesses being created, the diversity. Maybe you are happy with Iceland and the post office, for your £1 telly dinners and your giro. Who says ‘Laurence Davies’ is not a pseudonym?

          • What a charming person you are! Have to admit have never been into Iceland in Ramsgate but visited the post office on a number of occasions time and found all the staff very pleasant and helpful. (You obviously don’t work there) I wonder if you are are a DFL and if you are how long have you lived in Thanet/Ramsgate.?

      • Both named ‘Street’ not Road. New to the area?
        New businesses? Mostly eateries of one form or another. Some of us remember it when we did all our shopping, large and small in the area, even a main dealer garage or two.. It still is a ghost town in comparison these days.

  9. I would have thought the prospect of low flying cargo planes every 15 minutes over head, will now make properties harder to sell. Surprised people still want to build in ramsgate now.

  10. Just think these are to be situated in a area with shops in an area close to beaches and some very lovely walks, these are aimed at singles and couples not familes, it’s cheaper to hire a car nowadays what with cost of insurance, upkeep, petrol if non electric and parking fees, by the time you add it all up if you don’t use the car for driving a lot of millage your better off using public transport or getting a bike better still walking, if you need to do a big supermarket shop it’s cheaper to get them to deliver, if you prefer to go and see what you’re buying and it’s a big shop a taxi is not much more cost than a return bus ride from Westwood x to all areas, we are now living in an age where we need to think of the environment more and this building company seems to be looking at very well, rain water storage, green roof and walls etc, I believe that this building around the local shops will save the local shops from closing down because we won’t have to travel to outer town shopping centres like Westwood x, bluewater, Canterbury, Ashford etc, and the best part we won’t be building on grade 1&2 farm land.

  11. Same old boring arguments

    Digging up “our” fields

    No parking

    Losing town centres

    Too many houses

    1.. they’re not “our” fields but someone elses land, and if they cant make a living from crops then they will sell!

    2. Car park is to the rear and I believe that you can get residential permits.

    3. Everyone who has used out of town shopping centres or online has help the demise of the town centres.
    Business with 4 stores across an area will find it more beneficial to have o e big store central!

    4.. maybe if some of the population stopped producing so many kids and got a job there wouldn’t be the need for more houses… plus peoples life expectancy is higher than it was!.

    The world is evolving and will never be the same as yesterday, last week, last year or when you were growing up.

    So embrace it and make it work for you.
    Stop wasting time moaning about things as you only get one life so why waste it on things not really important to you?!.

    • Oh no.
      They may not be “our fields”.
      Whose are they?
      Who works them and are they profitable?
      If the owners are not those who work the fields, are they not making a profit already from the rent received? If not, why not increase the rents?
      If the profitability of leasing land is not the issue, what is the loss-making entity within the owner’s portfolio that is being subsidised at the expense of the community’s agricultural legacy and food producing future?
      Start with the question: ” Who or what is the largest owner of agricultural land in Thanet?” Answer this question and answers to the rest will quickly fall into place!

    • Oh no.
      Who said “digging up our fields” ? I don’t recall reading that, perhaps I missed that comment.
      As I said earlier, better to leave valuable farm land alone. Was that to which you refer?
      The rest of your diatribe? I think you are the one “wasting time and moaning about things” here. Pot, kettle and all that.

  12. More cars with no parking!! More people & children with no NHS dentist in ramsgate, no doctors available & no more schools built including any special needs schools. Its all about making money! What are you going to do when these people can’t access any of the above??? No parking, no doctors no nhs dentist no schools. NO SALE!!!!!

    • If this country stopped “others coming in” it would ease the problem all round.

      Having tried to get a doctors appointment for 3 weeks , tempted to go to the beach bin my passport and I would get all the above including housing .

      • Paul, your racism/xenophobia (look it up) is uncalled for. It may go down well with your Conservative and UKIP friends, but they are lazy stereotypes which are also misguided. Ask why your MPs have not managed to improve policies and funding. And stop with the lazy prejudice. And read the Malicious Communications Act 1988, when you do have a minute.

      • Not just the illegals either. Have you seen how many are being waved through legally now? No wonder this country cannot cope and cannot build houses fast enough to keep up with the influx. The input is greater than the number of houses currently being buil, no wonder I cannot get a dentist, haven’t seen my doctor in over two years. It cannot go on like this.

  13. Your psuedonym is “silly”.
    No lives matter in the bigger scheme of things. There are nearly 8 billion of us D.N.A. agglomerations jammed to a rock by an invisible force hurtling through Spacetime. Meaning and mattering are mere human whimsy. Just like rights.
    Psuedomyms are the tool of cowards and trolls and the manipulative.

  14. But individuals don’t live their lives according to the “bigger scheme of things” but according to the more or less intricate web of personal experience.

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