INTERNATIONAL: Weston Homes to Redevelop Historic Factory Site in Dartford

By Ioana Neamt, Associate Editor

Essex-based house builder Weston Homes has acquired a historic, 7.59-acre property in Dartford, 16 miles away from central London. The Mill Ponds site, part of the former Wellcome Pharmaceutical Factory will become a mixed-use development providing 268,990 square feet of residential space and 28,567 square feet of retail and commercial space.

Located in close proximity to the Dartford Town Centre and Dartford Railway Station, the new ‘garden village’ will offer 400 residential units, including one- and two-bedroom apartments and two- and three-bedroom houses, as well as several green spaces and leafy lanes. Construction on the project will begin summer 2015, with completion expected by autumn 2016. The project is part of the British Government’s Garden Suburbs Programme announced in 2012.

According to Weston Homes chairman and managing director Bob Weston, Dartford’s new garden suburb-inspired community “will be ideal for families and executives wanting a home within the M25, providing easy commuting into central London.” Weston Homes’ purchase of the site is part of an ongoing initiative meant to double the size of the company over the next four to five years, according to a news release.

The Wellcome Factory produced, among others, cod liver oil and insulin, while also supplying medicine chests to explorers, aviators and the Royal family. In its heyday, the factory covered 33 acres and employed more than 1,300 people at the site.