Flats at Dartford town centre pub car park site approved
Plans for a block of flats on the Two Brewers car park site in Dartford town centre have been approved.
The block is the second application approved on this site in recent years and will include 14 flats.
The Two Brewers pub is a building with some gorgeous details such as glazed tiles, and Grade II listed though empty for some time. It faces Lowfield Street which saw a decade of decline as Tesco bought up buildings then failed to build. They eventually sold and new homes are now rising.
The new block is pretty standard except for a terrible ground floor which presents a completely blank frontage to the surrounding street.
New residents in the town centre could help revitalise a town centre hit hard by Bluewater’s opening. Dartford Council plans foresee 1,030 homes and 300 jobs alongside improving the public realm.
Plans can be seen here.
The flats themselves are okay. I do think however, something could be done to brighten up the ground floor level. It would look better if the ground floor exterior was finished in the same bricks as the rest of the development.
I know new homes are very much needed in Dartford after Tesco’s pulled out of building a large store and flats in the Town Centre.
I hope the Two Brewers Pub will also be refurbished in some way whether as a commercial unit or some period flats. As a lot of people are still looking to purchase period properties.
I would raise the height of the building slightly and turn the ground floor level in to possibly a laundry room and or gym for residents. This would save having to have a washing machine which can be noisey in the kitchen when this forms part of the main living space,
I would also finish the ground floor level in the same brick as the rest of the building. .
I too hope the Two Brewers pub will be refurbished to keep most of the original features. Wether it becomes commercial or residential premises in the future.