Swanely shopping Centre Development
This is a follow up report on the development of Swanley town centre and the actions that will be taken.
Swanley town centre development is known to likely go ahead with developments after sevenoak councils backs down due to many complaints and surveys that took place about the idea of housing blocks above the shopping centre .
It is known now that developers have been given permission with their plans to demolish a large section of the town centre in order to build seven tower blocks to full the space. This scheme will create 303 homes and 4,318 square metres of commercial and retail space in blocks of three to eleven storeys in height.
Sevenoaks council has rejected U+I’s proposal for Swanley square shopping centre, lodged last August, but the developers had appealed and now authorities have reluctantly decided not to contest and move citing new government planning polices.
Yet there are still many negatives about the tower blocks being built, these include; landowners believing the towers will block natural sunlight, car parking arrangements, no affordable housing will be proposed and how it is not the appropriate use of the land.
The council’s chairman of the development control committee Cllr Gary Williamson said: “ The committee refused this application as they had serious concerns about the impact on the neighbours and the wider town.
Many locals are yet still concerned about the developments including Claire who said “The road around the area is already far too busy and this will absolutely ruin the skyline not to mention how much more busier the train station will become and also the fumes from 300+ cars. Denise said “The houses will not be at an affordable rate”.
This article has shown the progression of Swanley town centre development.
By Kaitlin Chapple-Allen
