Redevelopment plans for former Aylesprint Newsprint announced

Plans to bring the former Aylesford Newsprint site back to life and create more than 3,000 jobs have been unveiled by the site’s owners.

Panattoni, Europe’s largest privately-owned industrial developer, is consulting with the local community on plans to invest £180m to redevelop the site for industrial, logistics, distribution and manufacturing uses.

The 90-acre brownfield site has been vacant since 2015 when Aylesford Newsprint closed bringing a 90 year history of papermaking on the banks of the River Medway to an end. At its peak the site, employed more than 1,000 people.

Tony Watkins, Development Director at Panattoni, said: “Our redevelopment plans promise to give a new lease of life to this redundant brownfield site. It will deliver more than £140m per annum of economic value to the Borough of Tonbridge & Malling, and Kent as a whole, by attracting some of the world’s leading companies to the site as well as providing buildings to support the growth of local companies constrained by the lack of facilities”

“We believe our proposals are consistent with the Council’s economic ambitions and come at the right time as the country considers how to restart, renew and rise to the challenges resulting from Covid-19.

“We want to hear what local residents think about our proposals, so wherever possible we can reflect this feedback in the final planning application.”

The proposal is to design and build seven industrial buildings offering in the region of 177,000 sqm of new commercial floorspace.

Consistent with Panattoni’s approach adopted at its other sites, the proposals embrace environmental sustainability, including using energy efficient materials, efficient LED lighting and electric vehicle charging points.

If approved by Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council, the plans would enhance the Bellingham Way link road for full public use, with no HGVs allowed to access to or from Station Road.

Panattoni will submit a planning application to Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council later in the summer. If approved, Panattoni anticipates construction will begin in 2021, with first occupation expected spring 2022 and completion of the development by 2024.

The company finalised the purchased of the site earlier this year and has been working on its plans with leading commercial property architects, landscape ecologists and planning consultants.

To find out more about the proposals visit www.PanattoniParkAylesford.co.uk. Residents without internet access can call 0207 592 9592 to request more information.