We have launched a Call for Sites to accommodate business and employment uses within the Borough. This will underpin key Corporate Plan commitments relating to a vibrant and energised economy, revitalised town and sustainable development.
Cllr John Burden, Leader of the council, said:
"The call for employment sites is a really important piece of work, to underpin our ambitions for the local economy.
We are appealing to the development community, landowners, businesses and anyone with innovative or novel suggestions for repurposing existing sites or buildings, with the aim of supporting local employment opportunities.
“With growth on our doorstop, we need to ensure that we can accommodate our business community and respond to new economic growth prospects and secure investment in a modern economy.
“This will benefit our urban and rural areas, while protecting the precious open spaces that provide the green lungs of the Borough.”
Who might this opportunity be of interest to?
- The development community
- A landowner
- A new investor
- An established business with a proposal to redevelop or repurpose a site or building
We are keen to hear from all organisations and businesses, regardless of their levels of experience within the planning and development sectors.
Across office and industrial sectors alone, the current vacancy rates within the Borough are typically just 1% of the available stock, which is considerably less than in comparable locations and suggests a constrained supply (when analysed alongside other factors).
We understand that the market for space is changing and might include the following or other unusual or innovative prospects:
- Emerging Growth sectors
- Flexible offices & business units
- Light Industrial & ‘last mile’ logistics
- Creative & Technical production space (incl. food & drink)
- Micro business
- Maritime-related
- Rural diversification
Our purpose
The aim of the call is to build a pipeline of employment-generating site opportunities within the Borough, to deliver a step-change in the availability of the new sites, premises and flexible workspaces necessary to meet the demand within north Kent and the Thames Estuary.
We are committed to a vision of Inclusive Growth, that enables opportunities for our diverse communities - from young people and those taking their first step into employment or enterprise, through to key strategic industries that serve the local and sub-regional economy.
By seeking to ensure a diverse mix of sites for businesses and other organisations, we will be able to facilitate the employment creation, enterprise and business investment necessary for a vibrant, inclusive local economy.
This work will feed in to the development of the Gravesham Local Plan and the identification of sites available for employment-generating uses within the Borough.
The economic development team will also engage with any party proposing a site for development or redevelopment, to help in bringing these forward.
Guidelines for submission
Read the Briefing pack for detailed information, including geographic search locations.
By submitting your response, you are accepting that the Council may publish and share with our specialists Avison Young. The results of this assessment process will be shared with those proposing a site(s).
- Please submit a separate form for each site
- Please include as much information as possible; you must also provide a location map that clearly identifies the site boundary.
- There is no site size threshold for the submission of sites.
There will be an assessment process of the submissions, carried out with our consultants.
Deadline for responses to the Call for Sites: end of October 2024
Please note that there will not be a charge for this work.