Urban Gravesham

The Civic Society

for Gravesend and Northfleet

Edinburgh House Pay Council's Legal Bill

Read the full article from Gravesend Messenger here

A Positive Plan

See the latest positive plan for Gravesend's historic riverside factsheet.

Call for Public Consultation

Urban Gravesham are calling for the council to conduct a full public consultation into the regeneration of teh Heritage Quarter. You can help by downloading and completing this form and then sending it to Adam Hollowing MP and Councillor Snelling. It is important they realise the strength of public opinion for a full and open consultation and not having the future of our town decided by a secret agreement seen by a few councillors and the developers.

Heritage Quarter Regulatory Board Meeting

On the evening of 19th April 2010 a special meeting of the Regulatory Board Board was held to consider Edinburgh House's Heritage Quarter scheme. Several hundred objectors and a handful of supporters of the application were in attendance in Woodville Halls to hear the committee consider the application. Several members of the committee raised serious concerns with the applications, the council leader tried to frighten them into approving the scheme but after a couple of hours the committee decided to DEFER the application. The board also asked the developers to re-submit the application as 2 seperate applications, one for te Eastern side and another for the Western.

Urban Gravesham believe that the developer will make some minor changes to the application and re-submit and in the mean time Councillor Snelling has been trying to convince councillors of the need for the scheme. A secret meeting of Tory councillors was held recently.

You can view a recording of the full meeting here.

On the road to nowhere: The Transport Quarter:

Last month, Gravesham Council's Regulatory Board gave planning permission for a new bus station (together with associated changes in road layout) for the land between the Somerset Arms and the Victoria Centre.

Urban Gravesham submitted very strong written objections to the new multi-storey car park that is proposed in this location for the benefit of commuters. It spoke against the proposals at the Regulatory Board meeting. Basically, a multi-storey car park, no matter how well designed, will create a very dark, windy, and unpleasant gateway to Gravesend. It will create considerable additional traffic, but very little additional trade for the town centre. In addition, road changes will require the demolition of Nos.13 and 15 Darnley Road- attractive late Georgian town houses that are possibly worthy of being listed.

The scheme also includes for improvements around the Civic Centre. However, these do not outweigh the devastating effect this scheme will have on this part of Gravesend.

We felt that these points were very easy to grasp. Unfortunately, the prospect of lots of government money (£50 million plus) seemed to blind Councillors to the scheme's fundamental flaws. They lined up, one after another, to praise the scheme. The application was passed with barely a discussion.

It to be hoped, in these straighted times, that the new Government notices that the bus station does not actually allow for any significant expansion of bus services. In this context, £50 million does not seem like value for money.

Town Green Public Inquiry

Monday, 10th May , sees the opening of the Public Inquiry into Urban Gravesham's application to get St Andrew's Gardens classified as a town green and thus prevent any future development on the site. Gravesham Council have hired a QC to contest this. The inquiry start at 10:00am at Riverside Centre, Dickens Road, Gravesend, please come along and show your support.

Read The Full Facts on the Heritage Quarter

(Click on image above to view the full leaflet)

Several people have expressed frustration at being unable to view the application on the council's planning website. Urban Gravesham have therefore produced extra CDs containing the submitted documents. If anyone would like a complete set of these on CD please contact us at the address below.

Heritage Quarter Application Submitted

Edinburgh House Estates Limited have now submitted their revised application for the huge changes to Gravesend town centre. The council have given a deadline of 4th January for people to read and comment on the thousands of pages submitted, they have also asked for nearly £700 to get a full hard copy of all the documents submitted. UG are fighting against both of these restrictions but in the meantime you can find the full application here. (Application Reference 20080696)

Public Inquiry into Town Green Application

Kent County Council (KCC) has decided to hold a public inquiry into whether St Andrew’s Gardens in Gravesend should be designated a village green, which would ban development on it. This is exactly what Urban Gravesham have been pushing for.

GBC were represented by Anthony Dinkin QC. It was noted how legal representation at this was not in the 'spirit' of the process. It would also be interesting to see how much his presence has cost us as tax payers.

A big thank you to all those involved, in particular to Claire Brown for having submitted the application and following it through.

We are looking to get in contact with anyone that has used the gardens between 1988 and 2008. Please use the email address at the bottom of the page to get in contact.

Urban Gravesham members at the KCC hearing.

Transport Quarter Proposals

Public consultation on the latest plans for Gravesend town centre's Transport Quarter starts on 13 June and runs until 26 July 2009.

The key points are:
· an improved railway station
· increased car parking
· a bus interchange next to the railway station
· a new two-way road link
· development of new homes (flats) on the site of the existing Rathmore Road car park
· new public space uniting the Civic Centre forecourt with the sensory gardens.

An exhibition of the proposals is being mounted at:
Towncentric
(opposite St George's Church behind St George's shopping centre)
13-26 June Monday-Saturday 9am to 5pm
(The exhibition will be manned from 1pm to 5pm 15 -19 June and 10am to 4pm on Saturday 20 June)
Civic Centre
29 June - 10 July Monday-Saturday 9am to 5pm

Council and Developers ‘hell bent’ on destroying much loved green space

Gravesham Borough Council and property developers Edinburgh House have taken steps to ‘throw out’ proposals to protect St Andrews Garden’s from development by objecting to Urban Gravesham’s application to have the Gardens designated as a Town Green.

Urban Gravesham’s opinion:

This is a cynical and disgraceful action by the Council. We are desperately disappointed that the Council has sought to oppose our application to safeguard these riverside gardens as a permanent green space for the recreational use of the people of Gravesend.

The town green application should have been the perfect opportunity for the Gravesham Borough Council to support the obvious wishes of the people of Gravesend and to admit they were wrong to even contemplate building on these well-loved gardens. It is a shame that Council Leader, Mike Snelling, seems willing to spend potentially large sums of money on a legal fight, whilst informing us of how little money the Council has in its coffers. We remain confident that the registration authority, Kent County Council, will look at the application and the supporting evidence from local people, and will ensure that St. Andrew's Gardens is registered as a Town Green.

Read about the campaign to save St Andrews

Tower toppled! But the Fight Goes On

A big, big thank you- the end of the tower

The 33-storey tower on St Andrew’s Gardens is no longer to be built. Thank you to everyone who helped deliver the 1000’s of leaflets, who collected the 7000 signature petition, who wrote letters of objection, and who helped in all sorts of other ways. There is no doubt that this climb down on the part of the Council and its development partner, Edinburgh House Estates, is due to Urban Gravesham’s campaign. This is a stunning victory for the ordinary people of Gravesend.

However, the victory is only partial. The Council and Edinburgh House Estates want to carry on with the planning application for the rest of the Heritage Quarter scheme. Huge 7-9 storey slab blocks still threaten West Street and the medieval High Street and St Andrews Gardens may still be built upon.

Stop the Concrete jungle: the campaign continues…
Urban Gravesham are continuing the campaign to ’stop the concrete jungle’.

How you can help
Keep supporting Urban Gravesham!
Help to deliver leaflets across the borough or at our Saturday stall – contact Gill Emerson (01474 566701) or Claire Brown 0777 3409746.
Encourage your neighbours, friends and relatives to join Urban Gravesham, and to write to the Council to object to the scheme.

"The proposals for church extension and the SW side of the submitted scheme should be considered together. We also consider such proposals can create a high risk of a monolithic design. This will impact heavily and adversely on the setting of the church but can also create a continuous monotonous face to West Street and parts of Bath Street."

(English Heritage letter of objection to Gravesham Borough Council 28.11.08)

See more pictures of the proposal here.

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Do you support Urban Gravesham? If so please feel free make a donation or join our group. Contact info@urbangravesham.org

Urban Gravesham - the Civic Society for Gravesend and Northfleet- is a group of citizens concerned and interested in the character and environment of the urban areas of Gravesham. We take an interest in all new development and aim to engage the Council, developers and other interested parties in debate about the future of Gravesend and Northfleet