Proposals to transform a derelict maternity hospital which shut over two decades ago into a major housing development hang in the balance.

The eyesore structure in Bath Street, Gravesend, is earmarked for 113 flats with parking, amenity areas, a private gym and flexi-use space.

The former Gravesend and North Kent Hospital will be converted with an 11-storey side and single-storey roof extension, and a new three to six-storey building erected.

The original scheme, which was for 115 flats, including 47 one-bed, 59 two-bed and nine three-bed units, was approved by Gravesham council in February 2022.

A condition was imposed on the plans stating that work must start by February 17, 2025, otherwise the permission would expire.

The building, known as M-Block, was then bought by property investors, Strawberry Star Group, in July 2022, who asked to slightly amend the approved proposals.

The number of flats was reduced to 113, with 51 one-bed, 55 two-bed and seven three-bed units, and changes to the parking, amenity space and layout were made to “improve the overall deliverability of the scheme”.

The changes were accepted by the local authority in November 2022, but the original expiry date for the planning permission still applied.

The developers also needed to have several pre-commencement conditions approved before starting work on the site.

However, the London-based firm is now caught up in a legal tussle with Gravesham council after demolishing the former engine room before they were all discharged.

The building was knocked down by contractors, DDS Group Limited, on February 15, 2025 — two days before the planning permission was due to expire.

According to the documents, the applicants started operations to “make efficient use of the site” and implement the approved scheme, despite, it claims, knowing they did not have all of the requirements signed off.

However, they argue they are “process conditions” and “do not go to the heart of the permission”, so they should not be an issue.

The six conditions, including contamination, surface water drainage and phasing, were expected to be decided upon by March 2025, after the planning permission would have lapsed.

The submitted legal opinion statement claims that “it therefore became necessary to carry out works” in alleged breach of the conditions to ensure that work had started before the expiry date.

In a statutory declaration, the development director for Strawberry Star Group, Simon Taylor, said it was their aim to implement the scheme before February 17, 2025, and they hoped the conditions would be approved in time.

The firm has now applied for an existing lawful development certificate, which is a legal document issued by a local planning authority to confirm a development is lawful.

It is arguing the approved planning permission has been lawfully implemented and has not expired.

Strawberry Star Group is also requesting the council not take enforcement action against them and believes it would be “legally unreasonable” for it to require the engine room to be rebuilt.

The local authority is expected to decide on the certificate application by July 29.

To see more planning applications and other public notices for your area, click here.

If it chooses to reject the proposals, Strawberry Star Group will have to seek further permission or a retrospective planning application, and the council can consider enforcement action.

However, the refusal of a certificate does not mean that the development is unlawful, and the firm could still appeal the decision or reapply with more evidence.

The opening of Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford made Gravesend and North Kent Hospital obsolete, and it partially shut in 2004.

However, some services remained in the maternity block until it fully closed two years later in 2006.

Gravesham Community Hospital was then built on part of the plot in Bath Street, but the old M-Block remained empty.

The NHS finally sold the building in 2018 for £2.3million, but it has continued to remain vacant, becoming a hotspot for vandals, trespassers and fly-tippers.