Housing Development at Queenborough

History of the site.

Being at Queenborough Castle in the year 1579 I found there one Mathias Falconer. A Brabander, who did in a furnace that he had erected there, trie to draw very goode brimstone and copperas oute of a certaine stone that is gathered in great plenty upon the shoure near untoe Minster on this Isle". 

This extract from Lambard’s "Perambulations of Kent" is the oldest known record of a chemical factory in Britain.

In the years prior to 1882, the factory was mainly engaged in the manufacture of Sulphuric Acid by a lead Chamber process using crushed pyrites, a convenient source of Sulphur found on the Island.

William Carr Stevens in 1882 purchased the old factory at Queenborough started by Mr. Falconer, at this time known as "Queenborough Chemical and Copperas Works". In January, 1887 William formed a new company, "Sheppy Glue & Chemical Works Ltd".

John William Stevens contunued the development of the Chemical Works on the town side at Queenborough and in 1896 puchased more land to the south of the Chemical Works on the other side of the creek. He called this Marsh Works and it was later to be called Klondyke.

The marsh works was developed over many years and new revolutionary production plants were built to manufactue fertiliser, glue, fat, animal feeding meat and bone.

Situation

The property is located on the South side of the Queenborough Town Quay in an Ancient Town on the Isle of Sheppy renowned for its historic associations and fine period architecture including the Parish Church and Town Hall and also it Naval History. The M20 may be joined via the A249 and the Queenborough Train Station has connections with London and the coast.

Now

To day the Stevens family has the chance to redeveloped the Marsh Works for housing leaving a legacy to be proud of and for future generations of the community to enjoy.

Despite the sites industrial past the contamination of years of industrial activity has not found the site undevelopable. The contamination over the years has been diluted by the continued redevelopment and the raising of site levels as the factory has settled into the marsh. We have found through extensive testing the contaminants are at very low levels and can be treated in an environmentally safe fashion without having to export materials to landfill. We are working with experts in the field to treat the contamination using the latest tried and tested techniques.

We are working with SEEDA to developed a scheme that will regenerate the Queenborough & Rushenden area providing new jobs, business opportunities and community services.

Objectives

Our objective is to harmonize the new development to compliment and enhance existing housing on the Queenborough Town side of the creek. There will be opportunities to improve and enhance existing facilities to benefit the whole community including activities like water sports, shops and café's.

There will be new business and job opportunities on site and existing larger businesses will be relocated to new industrial parks with better access to the A249.

On a wider aspect of the development there are several architectural and building related items that need to be considered. These include: · Whole-life costs · Renewable energy · Sustainable Site Management During Construction · Building Design Considerations, (BREEAM Measure of Environmental Performance), Adaptable buildings, Lifecycle Materials Costs. · EcoHomes 2005 Criteria · Recycling · Use of water saving devices and natural drainage · Reduction of long term maintenance costs.

Renewable Energy

As a consequence of the climate change, the government policies are promoting developments that explore energy-efficiency measures. The policy relating to this is PPG 22 - Renewable Energy. Paragraph 18 states: "Local planning authorities and developers should consider the opportunity for incorporating renewable energy projects in all new developments. Sheppy will incorporate small scale renewable energy schemes utilising technologies such as solar panels, Biomass heating, small scale wind turbines, photovoltaic cells and combined heat and power schemes. As part of the Masterplan, Sheppy & SEEDA will actively promote renewable energy, including CHP.

Queenborough & Rushenden Regeneration

This is a very informative website and has been developed by SEEDA to inform the public of the changes that will take place within the Thames Gateway and the Isle of Sheppey particularly in the Rushenden, Queenborough area.