Woman taken to hospital after two-crash on A260 at Denton near Folkestone

Following a two-car collision, a woman was sent to the hospital.

At Denton, close to Folkestone, it occurred on the A260, Canterbury Road, and the road was closed for three hours.

Paramedics and police were called to the collision yesterday (Saturday) around 11.20 a.m.

“A woman was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment,” a police official stated. Just before 2:30 p.m., the road was cleared.

Six shops in New Rents, Ashford, set to finally be demolished for 92-bed hotel

A 92-bed hotel may eventually be built by demolishing a row of stores on a town center street that has been affected by closures.

Developers SPPF Ltd. initially proposed plans for the New Rents, Ashford, development in July 2020, and two years later, those plans were approved.

Although there has never been any movement on the project, Ashford Borough Council (ABC) has received a new proposal to destroy six retail establishments on the street.

Game, British Heart Foundation, KPC Events, Betfred, and HomePlus Furniture were the last tenants of the 1978-built stores.

Since then, all five have shut down; the only one remaining is the PDSA charity, which is planning to relocate to the County Square shopping center.

Architects Blue Ridge Designs filed new planning statements on behalf of applicants Whathi Limited, claiming that tearing down the existing properties would “speed up the development process of this important site”.

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The new hotel’s ground level will house the reception area, an extra bar, and a restaurant when it is constructed.

The unit’s third floor will be a combination of hotel and residential space, while the first and second floors will be used primarily for hotel purposes.

In the meantime, only apartments are planned for the fourth story.

 

It is anticipated that the hotel will provide three to four-star accommodations, while the operator is still unknown.

However, construction on the 0.44-acre project, which is expected to have a total of 10 apartments, has been on hold for a number of years.

As the development continued to be affected by water quality issues with the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve, wooden hoardings encircling the site were removed after two months in April.

The protected beauty spot near Canterbury has been affected by wastewater run-off from developments across east Kent causing high levels of harmful nitrate and phosphate nutrients.

As a result, rules set down by Natural England insist developers must ensure all schemes in the River Stour catchment area are “nutrient neutral” – either by having an on-site water treatment facility or offsetting the impact by providing mitigation measures elsewhere, such as wetlands.

The issue has prevented thousands of new developments from being built across east Kent – including the New Rents site which ABC previously said remains unresolved by SPPF.

But, following the submission of a £7.5 million grant to the government by ABC and Canterbury City Council (CCC) earlier this month, the project could finally be set to get underway.

The two authorities are forming a joint company called the Stour Environmental Credits Ltd (SEC) which will trade in “nutrient credits” from next year.

Developers will purchase the credits from SEC and the company will then use the proceeds to help fund projects to mitigate the pollution caused by building new homes.

The measures also include water companies improving works to water treatment facilities, upgrades to septic tanks and new connections to treatment works.

 

SEC will then issue certificates to developers to confirm that they have bought credits and contributed to mitigation, which would be submitted with planning applications to allow them to proceed

As a result, Blue Ridge Designs says the applicants have submitted the new application “in light of the council’s decision to overcome the problem of environmental pollution of the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve”.

They added: “The early removal of the existing buildings in advance of the redevelopment scheme would allow an early start to the scheme and an earlier significant enhancement to the character of the town centre.

“The long delay, of more than two years, in being able to commence development has impacted the construction costs and so any method of achieving an early start will be financially helpful in maintaining the quality of the scheme.”

Once empty, contractors are expected to take the roof off the buildings as part of the first phase of demolition.

Parking will not be provided for hotel guests, although bosses say there is an agreement in place with the operators of the County Square car park to allow visitors to use that nearby facility.

Twelve spaces are proposed on the site for residents living in the flats.

The hotel has also been designed by award-winning architect Guy Hollaway.

A decision on the application is expected by December 11.

KentOnline has made attempts to contact the applicant via Blue Ridge Designs.

Visit the Public Notice Portal to learn about planning applications that have an impact on you.

As plans for the hotel move forward, PDSA, which was connected to a move to County Square earlier this year, says it will keep trading in New Rents.

“We are still very much exploring our options when it comes to our charity shop in Ashford, but we are keen to remain in the area,” a charity spokesman stated.

“We appreciate the ongoing local support, and the store will continue to operate normally until we finalize the long-term strategy.

“Once we have some confirmed plans in place, we will share any updates regarding the shop.”