Dartford council is asked to commit £36.08m to build 69 homes and a cinema on the old Co-op site, and forward-fund a £9.3m gap. Cabinet decides on 29 October.
Dartford Borough Council is being asked to commit £36.08 million to build its own homes, shops and a small cinema on the former Co-op site in the town centre. The money would not come back quickly. On the council’s own figures, the scheme is not expected to repay its investment for 46 years.
The plan goes to the council’s Cabinet on Thursday 29 October. The spending itself needs the full council, the General Assembly, on 14 December. (Cabinet report, Former Co-op Site Development)
What would be built
The scheme, known as Westgate, won planning permission on 18 June 2026. The report sets out what it now includes:
- 69 homes, more than half of them family homes and over 40% houses with private gardens
- 55 of those homes sold on the open market by the council itself
- 9 homes for affordable rent, kept by the council as council housing
- 5 shared ownership homes, sold through Kent housing associations
- a “local” cinema of three to four screens, about 8,000 sq ft, in the ground floor of the old Co-op building on Spital Street
- about 4,000 sq ft for a nursery or other business use, possibly shared with community space
- about 10,000 sq ft of other commercial space that can be split into units
- no parking: the design is car-free and “pedestrian prioritised”
The original Co-op department store façade on Spital Street has been kept and would be built into the scheme. The store closed in 2008 and was partly demolished in 2013. The council bought the land from Homes England in June 2023. Most recently it held the temporary Orchard West theatre, taken down in September.
Where the money comes from
The £36.08m is the cost from now until the scheme is finished, including a 12.5% contingency on building costs. The report lists four sources:
- £20.79m from selling the homes
- £4.65m from a reserve set aside for the Co-op site in 2025/26
- £1.37m from the council’s housing account, to buy the nine affordable rent homes
- £9.262m that the council would have to forward-fund itself from internal resources
The four add up to £36.07m, a rounding difference from the report’s total.
That £9.262m gap is the risk. The council would borrow against its own balances and pay it back from the revenue budget over time. The report is plain about the result: “the scheme is not expected to recover the Council’s investment within 30 years”, but would within 46 years.
There is a possible way to shorten that. The council is talking to One Public Estate, a government property programme, about up to £2m towards an electricity substation and high-voltage works. If that grant comes through and a pooling reserve is also used, the gap falls to £5.262m and the payback period to 21 years. The report assumes no grant for now.
The detailed financial appraisal, the risk register and the names of the shortlisted builders are in exempt appendices. They will be discussed in private.
The cinema has interest, not a tenant
There is no signed tenant for any of the commercial space. The report says there is “only a firm expression of interest from a cinema operator”. The Independent Cinema Office, a specialist adviser, told the council there is enough demand for a cinema of that size in that spot.
The report also notes that the cinema market “has been subject to market downturns over the years”. So the space will be built as a shell, flexible enough for other businesses if no cinema signs. The council considered letting it to whoever paid most, but rejected that because it could mean, in the report’s words, “a gym in lieu of a cinema in Spital Street”.
When it would happen
The report’s timetable:
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Cabinet decision | 29 October 2026 |
| Full council vote on the budget | 14 December 2026 |
| Building contract awarded | March 2027 |
| Building starts | July 2027 |
| First phases finished | Spring 2029 |
| Whole scheme finished | Spring 2030 |
Five contractors have been shortlisted. The first phase would be the old Co-op block on Spital Street, with the cinema on the ground floor and homes above. Building in phases lets the council stop after a phase if the market turns.
There is also a deadline from Homes England. Its “buy-back” condition is tied to the council starting work under a planning permission within five years, with a “back-stop” of May 2028. Building in phases lets the council meet that without committing to the whole scheme at once.
The other choice
The council could hand the land back. Its purchase agreement gives Homes England the first option to buy it back if the council decides not to build homes. The report rejects this, saying it would lose the scheme’s benefits and bring “reputational risk”. It calls Westgate “the Council’s first major development of this type”.
What it means for you
If you live or own property next to the site, one recommendation matters directly. Cabinet is asked to move the land into “planning purposes” under section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016. That means neighbours whose right to light or other rights are affected could no longer get a court injunction to stop the building. They would be entitled to compensation instead.
The council’s modelling calls the effect on neighbours’ light “fairly minor”. The report says nobody has yet complained about loss of light, and that there is no legal duty to write to those who may be affected. If you think your property is one of them, raise it with the council before 29 October.
If you are a council taxpayer, the decision on the £36.08m budget is the full council’s on 14 December. You can contact your ward councillor before then.
If you use the town centre, Westgate’s drainage has to be laid along Hythe Street, which is due to close from 29 October for the town centre rebuild. Our Hythe Street closure story and Dartford roadworks page have the detail. Westgate’s approval in June is in our Dartford planning news round-up.
Also on Cabinet’s agenda
- Princes Park: up to £300,000 more from reserves to replace the leaking roof and timber cladding at Dartford FC’s stadium.
- Acacia Sports Hall: a competitive tender to find an operator once the Orchard Theatre moves out, after works including a new heating system and a lift. (Cabinet report, Acacia Sports Hall)
- Private rented housing: a new enforcement policy and civil penalties under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
The meeting is at 7pm in the Civic Centre, Home Gardens. (Cabinet, 29 October 2026, agenda)
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