Dartford Town Centre Area Action Plan

The Dartford Town Centre Area Action Plan was the first Local Development Framework (LDF) document to be prepared by the Council. Whilst Government guidance advises that the Core Strategy should be the first document to be produced, at the time of preparation there was an urgent need to have a planning framework in place to respond to major applications that were expected imminently.

The Area Action Plan was submitted to the Secretary of State on 28 August 2008. An exploratory meeting was held with the appointed Independent Inspector on 9 December 2008 to consider his concerns with regard to the Area Action Plan preceding the Core Strategy and other issues relating to the evidence base. The meeting also considered the implications for the Area Action Plan arising from a recent unexpected announcement that Glaxo Smith Kline were to vacate a large site contiguous to the Area Action Plan boundary. This had important implications for the planning of the area which had not previously been considered.

In considering these issues, the Council at its full meeting on the 15 December 2008 concluded that there may be a need for major changes to the submitted Area Action Plan which could not easily be dealt with as an amendment and, therefore, resolved to seek a direction from the Secretary of State to withdraw the Area Action Plan. In taking the decision, the Council was mindful of the fact that withdrawal of the AAP was unlikely to delay development, since development of some of the major sites had been delayed as a result of the economic recession.

In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 22(2)(b) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the Secretary of State wrote to Dartford Borough Council on 23 January 2009 directing withdrawal of the Dartford Town Centre Area Action Plan.

The Council remains fully committed to the regeneration of the town centre and will continue to progress schemes to achieve this. In seeking withdrawal of the Area Action Plan, the Council also resolved to commence work on bringing forward proposals for the Glaxo Smith Kline site. The Council now intends to incorporate proposals for the town centre in its Core Strategy. This may be supplemented by a Dartford Town Centre Supplementary Planning document in the future.

The withdrawn Submission Document is available to view on line from the link below. It may also be purchased from the Council at a price of £15.

The Council would like to thank all those who took the time to time to participate in the public meetings and consultation events and/or make representations on the document.