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| 01/05/08
Heritage Quarter Regeneration Scheme Gravesham Borough Council hit back at misleading claims being made about the Heritage Quarter regeneration scheme. The £150m project was agreed, subject to planning permission, between the developers Edinburgh House Estates Ltd and the council's previous administration early last year with support from both political parties. The council and EHEL between them own most of the land involved. The proposed development will include: 1,000 new jobs a new modern events areas new and improved public space 630 new apartments, including 230 on the land near St Andrew's. more than 30,000 sq ft of restaurants and leisure facilities more than 10,000 sq ft of new offices around 100,000 sq ft of new shops a 40-60 bedroom hotel 1260 car park spaces – 800 of which are new new and improved St Andrew's Gardens improved river walkway and links to the river new church and community facilities A development agreement achieved two-party support and that has continued with the change of administration in May last year. The council's present leader, Cllr Mike Snelling, said: "I believe both sides of the council are committed to the overall investment in the regeneration in the Heritage Quarter. We all want to see this investment in the town centre succeed and people should see the whole scheme, not just one element of it, as a major opportunity to inject new life into the town. "The debate is over how we get 230 dwellings on the St Andrew's riverside site without compromising historic riverside views. The tower, which is being debated before a planning application has been submitted, is the architect's solution to this conundrum. The final decision will be made by the independent planning committee – the Regulatory Board – when plans are submitted." He added: "But the debate is being infected with half-truths and scaremongering and unhelpful misinformation which are distorting rational discussion. The latest brought to my attention is that the council is being accused of having 'released the developers from an undertaking to include affordable housing'. Nothing could be further from the truth and this sort of lie can only distort the argument and invalidate petitions signed on that assumption. "What has happened is that the council is making the developers pay the equivalent cost of affordable housing so that we can address the real social housing shortage – of houses, not flats – throughout the borough." He said: "This is mischievous nonsense is political manoeuvring, trying to fool people into thinking they can choose all the plus points – more jobs, better parking and better amenities – while rejecting the financial reality that the entire scheme falls if the number of dwellings cannot be achieved. "At the end of the day, what is proposed is the replacement of ugly surface car parks with new shops and restaurants, new-style living areas, tremendous public open space and underground car parking, highlighting the river and turning the existing town centre towards it historic lifeblood." Cllr Snelling has already announced he was not going to take part in the decision of the Regulatory Board when the application is heard. Members of the board are not permitted to take sides publicly before that decision and Cllr Snelling is a substitute member of the board this council year but is standing down from the board after May.
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