Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Mill owners planning new homes on river site
Bold plans to dramatically transform riverside wasteland on the outskirts of Canterbury can today be revealed by the Gazette.
Developers hope to build 83 homes on a 12-acre site opposite the historic paper mill in Chartham.
The eye-catching scheme, which has been put forward by mill owners Arjowiggins, would be built on land alongside the picturesque River Stour.
“We want to give something back to the village,” mill manager Mark Hobday said.
“We are not looking at cramming in loads of homes – we are intending to create an environment that makes it a nice place to live. The land has belonged to the mill for hundreds of years and it is a wellthought-out application.”
Arjowiggins is yet to lodge an official planning application with the council but hopes to formally send off its proposals soon.
Bosses have already held a consultation event in the village and hope to reinvest cash made from the development into the mill.
“This particular business has been in Chartham for many hundreds of years and we want to stay part of the village,” Mr Hobday, 54, added.
“The reason for this project is, fundamentally, to try and raise some cash for the company to reinvest back into the plant to ensure we stay productive and efficient.”
The mill, which has been in the village since 1738, has specialised in making translucent paper since the 1930s and employs about 90 staff.
The stable block, engine shed and 12 abandoned cottages close to Station Road that were once lived in by mill workers, will be adapted into homes as part of the development.
It also includes three new pedestrian footbridges across the river as well as cyclist and pedestrian routes.
A disused Victorian filter bed will also be retained for use as public space.
“The architects have taken a long, hard look at the facades that make up the village,” Mr Hobday added.
“The new buildings will be made from modern materials but will try to replicate and blend in with the village.
“It is in a village setting and the design has to be appropriate for that.”
Chartham Parish Council chairman Carol Manning says she hopes first-time buyers will snap up the properties.
“The land has been fenced off for years and nobody realised how big a spot it is,” she said.
“The only concern the village has it about traffic coming out near the mill, but there may be an option for traffic to go somewhere else.
“Until we have got the planning application in front of us, it is difficult to make a judgement, but everything is quite positive.”
What do you think? Email kentishgazette@thekmgroup. co.uk or write to Gazette House, 5-8 Boorman Way, Wraik Hill, Whitstable, CT5 3SE.