Policy information sourced from the The Dartford Plan
Policy D7: Station Surrounds/ River Darent Area
West of Central Road and Overy Street and including the northern part of the Town Centre (shown on Diagram 9) is an area containing highly accessible brownfeld sites, with signifcant future potential for creating new neighbourhoods, facilities, links and environmental enhancements. Development in this area will be supported where it integrates with, and maximises the potential for, sustainable regeneration of Central Dartford. Land is allocated for mixed use redevelopment at Orchards Shopping Centre, Station Mound and Hythe Street/ Victoria Road north (shown on the Policies Map and sites 1 to 3 in Diagram 9).
Development will be permitted where it includes the following key elements:
- Transforming the riverside environment into an attractive, safe, vibrant and resilient place, promoting outdoor leisure and onwards connections wherever possible. Applicable sites shall deliver high quality pedestrian routes along both sides of the River Darent, new landscaped public spaces, and seek to naturalise the River and its banks, where providing food risk and ecological benefts, and, where appropriate, should include business uses which activate these spaces;
- Improving Dartford Railway Station or access to it, and respecting safeguarded railway land. All opportunities for benefcial station relocation and/ or new railway tracks or infrastructure for additional services, and enhancing interchange with Fastrack/ bus services, should be fully explored. Development at, or delivering a new railway station will be supported and should include new active uses supported by the high footfall;
- Providing modern commercial facilities as part of mixed use redevelopment unless demonstrated to be unviable, particularly:
- Any redevelopment of large footprint buildings where they are no longer viable in their current form should feature appropriate new active uses and be of a layout and design that provides permeability, with pedestrian friendly streets and public spaces, and greener links; or
- Complementing cultural and leisure uses at the Orchard Theatre/ Westgate allocation; or
- Meeting needs for fexible commercial foorspace, including co-working space and serviced ofces.
- Providing community facilities and alternative forms and tenures of new housing, additional to residential development under construction/ recently completed.
- Contributing to new or improved pedestrian/ cycle routes across the ring road (Home Gardens and Westgate Road) and across the railway line/ access to Dartford Railway Station, with attractive direct access routes to the High Street and Westgate allocation.
- Providing sufcient quality pocket parks and other greenspace, clear walkable routes to existing open spaces and signifcant contribution to the Green Grid.
- Ensuring that development is well and sensitively designed in proposing the efcient use of land, refecting the town’s character and heritage, and respecting other existing environmental assets and existing local residents.
Policy information sourced from the The Dartford Plan