|
From the https://www.newsshopper.co.uk 8th
August 2018. By Jessica Taylor
Application to convert The Alma Pub on Swanscombe High Street into flats.
A pub on Swanscombe High Street that was boarded up in April could
be knocked down and turned into flats if plans are approved.
The owners of the site have submitted a proposal to build 13
micro-flats in an apartment block with shared facilities and a
communal area where The Alma pub currently stands.
A micro-flat is defined as a self-contained, one-room apartment that
holds a bed, a living area, a bathroom and a kitchenette. It is
usually between 14 and 32 square metres in size.
The block proposed will also offer a gym and a communal laundry
room.
Landowners claim the flats would be ideal for single people,
commuters and people looking to downsize.
Citing "a desperate shortage of housing" which is particularly acute
in the south-east of England, the landowners argue a block of flats
will "contribute to the local economy."
Currently, the block does not offer parking for residents of the
flats, due to the site being located close to train stations.
According to the proposal, the site of The Alma is "not required as
a public house commercially nor as a community asset," because there
are two other pubs nearby.
It adds The Alma was "a problem pub," and it was banned from
operating as a pub after it surrendered its trading license.
The new building plans proposed are described as of "high quality
design and materials" in comparison to the pub currently onsite,
which "lacks visual coherence and suitable presence in the street."
People are being invited to give their comments about the
application on the council's planning website.
One Swanscombe resident, Helen Hawkes, registered her objection to
the proposal.
Her comment read: "This is another part of Swanscombe history which
is wanting to be removed.
"We don't need any more housing because we have more than enough
residents as it is."
The planning reference for this proposal is: DA/18/01002/OUT |
)