A planning application has been submitted to build 12 council houses on land at Tomlin Drive.
The aim is to reconfigure the existing hardstanding, parking area, former garages area, bin stores and drying areas.
Thanet council says there will be improved landscaping and the creation of a communal garden areas for the new build and existing Thanet District Council blocks at the site.
LLP (HMY)
The eight 3-bed and four 4-bed homes are expected to be built to net zero or nearly net zero standard which will reduce heating and hot water costs. The site is not identified or allocated in the Local Plan 2020 for housing but being within the urban confines it is likely to be acceptable in principle.
The land between Arlington Gardens, Broadley Road, and Dane Valley Road remained as farmland up until the 1970s when it was developed by the council to provide social housing.
The garages within the site area have been demolished following a planning application and asbestos survey. The existing concrete slabs remain.
Documents for the development say the preferred plan option: “attempts to balance the provision of parking, green amenity space and quantity of units expected within the site area.”
Stage two designs introduced more green space, reducing car parking, and reviewed refuse/recycling container storage and locations within the site.
The proposed blocks have been positioned to avoid direct overlooking. The layouts form several small courtyards enclosed by the development. There are small pocket gardens to provide tree cover and interest for residents.
The documents say: “We are working with the landscape architect to address connectivity between the existing amenity spaces, the pocket gardens and the wider context – especially the access road to the right-hand side of the site.”
A public consultation event was held by TDC at Millmead Community Hall, in May. The houses will be positioned on the site of the former garages. This opens up the opportunity to create a new footpath along the rear of the site, with small pocket gardens and seating. Existing parking spaces are retained plus 22 new car parking spaces. Twelve of the proposed spaces will have an EV charging point.
Planning documents can be seen on Thanet council’s planning portal, reference F/TH/23/1343.
Government funding
Thanet council has been allocated £685,275 of government funding which will be used to support the building of homes on brownfield sites
The funding, through the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Brownfield Land Release Fund, will go towards phase four of the council’s programme to with 49 new homes being built. They will form part of the council’s social housing stock and will be rented out to households on the housing register.
Locations have been identified at Tomlin Drive, Dane Valley Road and the former Dane Valley Arms site in Margate, and Staner Court and Clements Road in Ramsgate. All of these are brownfield sites, which means the land has been previously developed. They are all owned by the council, and currently have either disused garages or laundry drying areas on them.
TDC has successfully developed and provided 51 new social housing properties across the district (Phase 1 – 11 units, Phase 2 – 14 units, and Phase 3 – 26 units). Phase 4 marks a turning point, providing a similar quantity of dwellings as Phases 1 through 3, with the target of minimising operational energy demands
