Weston Homes has acquired a three hectare site next to Dartford railway station and the River Darent. The Mill Ponds site was once part of the Victorian-era Wellcome factory in the north Kent town. Subsequent owner GlaxoSmithKline closed the factory in 2008.
Weston plans to build 400 new homes on the site to create a waterside ‘garden village’.
Construction is scheduled to start this summer and take three years to build out.
Once complete there will be a large village pond and local high street providing 2,600m2 of retail/commercial space and 25,000m2 of residential accommodation in a mix of flats and houses.
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The Mill Ponds site was once occupied by the Pheonix Paper Mill, built in 1852, with the large mill pond created to help power the facility. This was replaced in 1889 by the Wellcome Pharmaceutical Factory founded by Henry Wellcome and Silas Burroughs.
Plans to remediate and regenerate the former factory’s brownfield land Mill Ponds and neighbouring Northern Gateway sites begun in 2010, with a plan created for the entire 33 acre facility devised by master-planner Delancey.
Weston Homes has bought what it considers the most historic part of the site for a price believed to be in the region of £14m from Jamie Ritblat of Delancey. Chairman and managing director Bob Weston said: “Our new £80m garden village will transform surplus industrial land and bring it back to use as high quality residential housing and commercial premises. The Mill Pond and river setting will provide attractive water features for the adjoining homes and the leafy garden suburb inspired design will create a highly attractive place to live. It will be ideal for families and executives wanting a home within the M25 providing easy commuting into central London.”
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