More on KentOnline
A dentist wants to operate out of two shipping containers on the site of a former pub.
Chopra and Associates Dental Surgeries have applied to Medway Council for a temporary branch based in North Street, Strood.
The dentist chain has branches across Sittingbourne, Swanscombe, Ashford and Canterbury, and is now hoping to open one in Medway.
The application would see a practice operate out of two shipping containers on the site formerly home to the Tug and Shovel pub, which was demolished in 2016.
The pub, after closing a decade prior was the subject to a planning application for eight two-bed flats which was approved in 2014, however the flats haven’t materialised.
Now, Chopra and Associates have outlined their hopes of using the disused plot as a base for a dental practice.
The practice would have one surgery room, a waiting area, a bathroom and a kitchen and the documents submitted with the application say an NHS dental practice is severely needed in Strood.
The use of the shipping containers, the documents say, would only be temporary as the site adjacent, at 24 Gun Lane, has planning permission for a block of flats with units for businesses.
Chopra and Associates anticipate the construction for the six-storey building on Gun Lane will be completed three years from now, when the dental practice will then be able to utilise one of the two commercial units.
The application for Gun Lane was for five one-bed and eight two-bed flats, parking, and two ground-floor commercial units and was approved in November 2023.
Access to dental services, and particularly NHS dental places, in Kent is a major issue with one in eight people in Kent without a dentist.
Chopra and Associates have previously made efforts elsewhere in Kent to try and improve access to NHS dentistry by recruiting overseas practitioners.
Find out about planning applications and other public notices in your area by visiting PublicNoticePortal.uk
The application is being considered by Medway Council’s planning department.