New homes at Connaught Barracks take a step forward

An important milestone has been reached this week in the development of land for new homes at the former Connaught Barracks in Dover.

Demolition contractors took possession of the site on Monday (25 July 2016). Local company DDS Demolition have been procured by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to clear the site for development, with demolition of all buildings on the former barracks site due to finish by early spring of next year.

The HCA also obtained outline planning permission for the first 64 homes to be built on the site earlier this month. 

Chris Moore, Development Director for Kent at the HCA said: "This is an important step forward in the redevelopment of the former Ministry of Defence site to provide new homes. The HCA has recently obtained outline planning permission for 64 houses for the first phase of development at the Connaught Barracks site. A programme of demolition works covering the majority of the existing buildings will now commence to prepare the site for housing development."

Cllr Paul Watkins, Leader of Dover District Council, added: "This has been a challenging site and I am pleased to see the HCA's plans for Connaught Barracks moving forward with planning consent for the first phase of 64 new homes, and demolition plans for the remaining buildings on the site.

"We recognised the potential of the site for quality housing in our Local Plan and its links to the wider regeneration taking place in the town centre."

Connaught Barracks is one of five sites where the government has announced it will directly commission thousands of new affordable homes on publicly owned land.