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Plans have emerged to create 26 “life-changing” homes on a town’s cheapest but “underutilised” car park.
Albany Place car park in Dover could be replaced with the new estate as Dover District Council (DDC) pushes forward with the proposal as part of its commitment to address the local need for affordable housing.
Although in the early stages of the planning process, council chiefs say it could help solve the “horrendous situation” they are currently in, with “hundreds of families unable to find somewhere to live”.
Speaking to KentOnline, leader of DDC, Cllr Kevin Mills (Lab) spoke of the importance of delivering affordable homes to residents.
Of the proposed scheme, he said: “We are not yet at the point of being able to submit a planning application.
“It's more at this date about the feasibility of options to deliver on our housing strategy.
“I think it's fair to say that it's always been identified as an underutilised car park.
“We have a horrendous situation with hundreds of families unable to find somewhere to live and if you put a roof over somebody's head, you change their life forever.
“This is why affordable housing is so important.”
Albany Place car park has long been a low-cost parking option for residents, but its inclusion in the Local Plan as a potential redevelopment site has made it a prime candidate for housing projects.
It currently costs £1.50 an hour to park there. It is cheaper than other town centre options such as Pencester Road (£2 an hour), Norman Street (£1.80 an hour) and Russell Street (£2 an hour).
A spokesperson for DDC said: “DDC is working to deliver an increased programme of affordable housing and is always looking for suitable brownfield sites to accommodate these developments.
“Albany Place car park has been identified in the adopted Local Plan as a site with redevelopment potential, and DDC is looking to explore this.”
The proposal was discussed behind closed doors at DDC’s latest cabinet meeting, earlier this month.
Councillors agreed that the plans could now progress to the next stage.
DDC will now work to appoint an agent and an architect to compile and submit a planning application for the development. A budget of £105,500 has been set for this.