en.Wedoany.com Reported - UK housebuilder Bellway has commenced groundworks on a residential project in Wilmington that will deliver 93 new homes, including the renovation of the historic Kingsfield House.
The development, named Cedarcroft, is located on the west side of the North Kent College campus, off Oakfield Lane. As part of the project, Bellway is renovating Kingsfield House and The Lodge to create 28 homes. Other buildings on the site that are no longer needed by the college have now been demolished, and the progress of groundworks will prepare for the construction of 65 new-build homes and apartments.
The project is expected to launch this autumn, with the first homes being released to the market. Ed Brading, Sales and Marketing Director for Bellway Thames Gateway, said Cedarcroft will transform this area of the North Kent College campus into a new residential community in Dartford, featuring nearly five acres of green open space with many mature cedar trees, from which the project takes its name.
Brading explained that the main part of Kingsfield House will be preserved and restored, becoming a landmark building within the new community. Modern extensions that previously detracted from the building's appearance have been demolished. With groundworks underway, 65 new-build homes will be constructed on the site, including 37 three- to five-bedroom homes for private sale and 28 affordable homes for local residents. These homes will be highly energy-efficient, equipped with solar photovoltaic panels and air source heat pumps to reduce carbon emissions, and will feature electric vehicle charging points.
Additionally, Bellway will convert Kingsfield House into 27 one- to three-bedroom apartments and The Lodge into a three-bedroom home, thereby preserving these two historic buildings while providing an additional 28 homes for private sale.
Kingsfield House was built in 1859, originally for stockbroker Edward Satterthwaite, before being sold in 1895 to social pioneer Madame Martina Bergman-Osterberg. She founded a physical training college there, specialising in teaching gymnastics to girls and young women, and is believed to have invented the modern sport of netball on the site. Her life is commemorated by two English Heritage blue plaques, one of which is located at Kingsfield House. After Madame Osterberg's death in 1915, the college continued to expand and was renamed several times, most recently becoming North Kent College in 2015.
Kingsfield House has been vacant since 2022 and has fallen into disrepair. Converting it for residential use aims to ensure its long-term preservation, while the sale of land no longer needed by the college also provides additional funding for educational resources.
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