Green light for seven-screen cinema and 215 new homes

Development Securities has secured planning for a £46m new town centre for Sittingbourne, Kent.

Swale Borough Council has granted planning to Phase 1 of the Spirit of Sittingbourne project, which includes plans for a seven-screen cinema, new leisure facilities, 29,000ft² of new restaurants, and 34,000ft² of retail space. The new scheme would also see the addition of 215 new residential apartments in the town centre and a 308 space multi-storey car park.

The plans will also improve pedestrian access to Sittingbourne railway station and have been drawn up by the Sittingbourne development consortium of Cathedral Group, Quinn Estates, Swale Borough Council and Essential Land.

Richard Upton, Chief Executive of Cathedral Group, speaking on behalf of the Spirit of Sittingbourne consortium, said: “We are thrilled by the committee’s decision. We have worked really hard with Swale Borough Council to get to this stage, but finally we can now start work to give Sittingbourne the support it needs to build a really successful future.

“Rather than roads and roundabouts, we want local people and visitors to be confronted by leisure and entertainment as soon as they arrive in the town centre. This is an exciting opportunity to create a prosperous new future for Sittingbourne and the kind of challenge we relish.”

Construction is due to begin in the summer.

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