Council approves flats at former Go Outdoors site

The blocks of flats would be between five and seven storeys

Planning consent has been granted by councillors for 319 new apartments in Chatham, Kent.

Developer Arpenteur Nightingale applied for permission in December to construct the flats at the former Go Outdoors site in The Brook.

Workers began demolition of the existing disused building in March.

Medway Council's planning committee unanimously approved the proposal at a meeting on Wednesday, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Council officers had recommended the plans were approved, saying while aspects of the scheme do not comply with the Arches Chatham Neighbourhood Plan, the proposal is significantly adapted to align as much as possible.

Council leader Vince Maple told the meeting the plans were now "a much better application than where it started from".

Demolition work at the site began in March

"Nobody wants an empty supermarket in their ward, which is effectively what we've had for some time," Mr Maple, who is also the local ward councillor, said.

The former Go Outdoors building has sat empty since the shop permanently closed in 2020. Tesco occupied the site from the 1970s until 2015.

Committee member Adrian Gulvin said the scheme would "make a substantial contribution towards our housing numbers".

"If we turn this down or try to get some alterations, we won't get anything at all, and this end of Chatham certainly needs a shot in the arm," he added.

The proposals consist of five apartment blocks of between five and seven storeys.