Proposed Submission: Gravesham Local Plan Core Strategy

value of a museum facility to the town is recognised but what form it mighttake, its focus, and how it might be delivered and run has not beendetermined.5.3.13 Hotels are also a difficult issue in that whilst they are classified as a'main town centre use', their location is often dictated by their function and themarket they are designed to serve. The Ebbsfleet planning permission(GR/1996/0035) allows for hotel development as part of the mix whilst outlineplanning permission has also been granted (GR/2011/0398) for a 60 bed hoteladjacent to the A2 at Coldharbour Road, Northfleet. Notwithstanding this, theCouncil would still wish to see the town centre as a focus for new visitoraccommodation in line with national policy and to support its role as anexpanded business centre and tourist destination. The potential to includehotel accommodation as part of the Heritage Quarter development has beenidentified under policy CS05 Gravesend Town Centre Opportunity Area.5.3.14 The policy set out below seeks to protect existing cultural and tourismfacilities and to enable the provision of new and enhanced facilities to servethe needs of the Borough's residents and visitors and to maximiseopportunities from an expanding visitor economy. It also recognises the valueof multi-culturalism in the Gravesham context and the importance ofsupporting the cultural needs of different sections of the local community.Whilst Gravesend town centre and the local centres are the sequentiallypreferred location for arts, culture and tourism development, new smallerscale facilities will also be supported in other locations where they relate tothe location or meet immediate local needs and will not have unacceptableimpacts, for example in terms of residential amenity and traffic generation.5.3.15 Other policies in the Core Strategy, in particular Policies CS12 GreenInfrastructure, CS13 Green Space, Sport and Recreation and CS20 Heritageand the Historic Environment, seek to protect and enhance the Borough'simportant assets which make it attractive to residents and visitors.136