Ebbsfleet corporation submits plans for temporary creative hub beside Northfleet Station

Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC) has submitted a planning application to bring a vacant and derelict site next to Northfleet Station in Kent back into temporary use as a community and workspace scheme for up to nine and a half years.

The Northfleet Pathway proposals would see the existing building on the site refurbished as a community space, including activities for young people alongside arts, creativity and community groups, EDC said. Workspaces for creative practitioners, local businesses and social enterprises would be created around it.

EDC said in September that the site is the former Old Station Goods Yard, and that the building started life as a railway electrical sub-station.

Sara Waller, Chief Executive Officer of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, said in September: "This is a really exciting step for Northfleet."

A meanwhile use on safeguarded land

EDC owns the site, which it said is protected for a possible future Crossrail extension and a pedestrian link between Northfleet Station and Ebbsfleet International. The scheme is described by the corporation as a temporary one, intended to put the land to use while longer-term plans for the area are decided.

The corporation will also determine the application. EDC says it is planning authority for the Urban Regeneration Area and acts as landowner for several key sites, and Gravesham Borough Council says the corporation is responsible for deciding planning applications in its area.

The application, reference EDC/26/0177, will be available to view and comment on from Monday 30 November on EDC's planning portal.

The operator

EDC, working with Gravesham Borough Council, Creative Estuary and Northfleet Central CIO, has appointed Nucleus Arts as preferred operator. The organisation is formally The Halpern Charitable Foundation, which operates as Nucleus Arts and works across the Medway Towns.

Nucleus Arts runs the Nucleus Art Centre on Chatham High Street, along with the Creative Riverside Hub in Chatham and The Langton Studios in Rainham, Gillingham.

EDC said the operator was appointed early, well ahead of design and planning work, so that it could help shape the proposals. The corporation said the November proposals are broadly the same as those shared when Nucleus Arts was announced in September.

Dr David Stokes, Chief Executive Officer of Nucleus Arts, said: "That is what we want to bring to Northfleet: a friendly, creative and inclusive space where people can meet, make, learn, work, grow and belong."

According to EDC, rent from the enterprise space is intended to directly support youth activities in the community building. The enterprise units are not intended for heavy industry or disruptive machinery, but for low-impact uses, the corporation said.

The proposals were shaped by a public consultation in September 2026, in which EDC said activities and opportunities for young people came through as a priority.

The wider programme

EDC said the project builds on the Northfleet Place Partnership, which it lists as bringing together EDC, Gravesham Borough Council, Northfleet Central CIO and Creative Estuary. Creative Estuary's own programme page names EDC, Gravesham Borough Council and itself.

Creative Estuary said the partnership's aim was to develop culture and the creative industries, SME growth and youth engagement as drivers of regeneration in Northfleet. It reports that the programme has supported 22 creative businesses.

Creative Estuary also said the partnership is progressing a separate Northfleet building project, the Coach House, for youth work, creative and community use.

Ebbsfleet Garden City is being created across 2,500 acres of previously used brownfield land on the Kent Thames riverside, according to EDC. Gravesham Borough Council says the Garden City is capable of providing up to 15,000 new homes, predominantly on brownfield land or former quarries.

Comments on application EDC/26/0177 open on 30 November.