Chamber calls on new Government to back business and call in orth eet arbourside

Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce has called on the newly elected Government to help a community of 40 Northfleet businesses which are facing the prospect of losing their premises.

An open letter from the Chamber of Commerce to Rt Hon Angela Rayner, MP and Secretary of State for the Department of Communities, Homes & Local Government, and signed by 20 of the 40+ affected businesses, asks the Government to make a final decision and halt the Northfleet Harbourside development. Despite the proposals being a departure from Gravesham Borough Council’s Local Plan and its planning policies, outline planning consent for the site was granted in May. The proposals include 3,500 new homes, a 300-bed hotel, 22,500m of retail and 9,500m of food and beverage commercial property, plus 18,000m of office space – and the promise of 3,000 new jobs. The project also includes the development of 8,000-seater capacity stadium.

However, the Northfleet Harbourside project brings with it uncertainty for the companies within the redline area of the proposed development, which are facing the likelihood of having their premises compulsorily purchased.

Tudor Price, Chief Executive of Kent Invicta Chamber said: “We recognise there’s a need to regenerate this part of Kent. However, the pressure to deliver new homes shouldn’t be at the expense of businesses already here, many of which are in industries that depend on the River Thames for their livelihood. “We believe the council has failed to safeguard the protected wharf which is the lifeblood of many local businesses, especially those involved in creating building and road materials. “It is our hope that Gravesham Borough Council will do what they said they would do and ask the Secretary of State to call in the application. We need a forensic examination of the proposals before a final decision is taken one that recognises the interconnected relations that exist between the businesses already here.”

The plans could also have a negative impact on a number of major businesses close to the site which are involved in aggregates, cement and heavy industry because they rely on significant numbers of lorries visiting their premises. Tudor Price continued: “Should the land be compulsory purchased, most of the businesses would find it impossible to find alternative premises in the local area. It would lead to their closure and the loss of hundreds of important manufacturing and jobs for local residents.

Developing new homes shops and offices in such close proximity to heavy industry operating 24/7 with their noise, dust and smells do not make good bedfellows. The result is inevitably conflict with the new residents trying to impose their will on longstanding industrial businesses.”

The move by the Chamber follows news that land proposed to be home for London Resort has been put up for sale, effectively ending the prospect of the theme park ever happening. Tudor Price added: “The Chamber is an advocate for the creation of jobs, especially after all the years of undelivered promises that surrounded London Resort, the impact of Covid, high energy costs, interest rate rises and the economic slowdown, but such growth must be in an appropriate location if it is to have a long-term positive effect. That simply doesn’t seem possible if Northfleet riverside goes ahead. “We need to celebrate the area’s economic past and recognise that the Thames continues to play an important part in the industrial future of North Kent and the livelihoods of hundreds of people the local firms already employ.

Property experts have questioned whether there is demand for 18,000m2 of office space in the area when there is unlet space available in Gravesham and Dartford including Ebbsfleet. There is also uncertainty that the proposed 3,500 homes and office space could generate and sustain the proposed retail and leisure space, with those businesses having to compete with Bluewater, and at the same time not having a detrimental impact on Gravesend’s town centre.