Proposed Submission: Gravesham Local Plan Core Strategy

2.3 Settlement pattern2.3.1 Gravesend and Northfleet comprise the main urban area. They lie to thenorth of the A2 alongside the River Thames. They are the principalsettlements with the widest range of services and facilities and where about80% of the population of the borough lives (about 75,000 residents).2.3.2 Gravesend is an historic riverside town. It has a successful town centrewith a good range of shops and multiple stores, including some smalldepartment stores. However, the number of vacant units has increased as aresult of the recent economic downturn. Its main retail competition comesfrom the nearby regional shopping centre at Bluewater in Dartford and fromother sub-regional centres such as Chatham and Maidstone. The town centreis a hub for public transport provision and is also where many of theBorough's leisure, cultural and civic facilities are located 4 .2.3.3 The Gravesend and Northfleet urban area is the main location forhousing and employment in the Borough. It contains a number of local centresand a range of other services. There are public transport links to Gravesendtown centre. The employment on offer has traditionally been based on heavymanufacturing industry set alongside the River Thames where there are deepwater wharves. Many of these industries have contracted over the past fewdecades leaving behind large tracts of under-used land set at a lower levelthan the surrounding urban area due to a history of chalk quarrying. Thesesites are potentially contaminated and may be subject to the risk of tidalflooding. Parts of the urban area suffer from poor air quality as a result ofexhaust emissions from traffic and heavy industry. This has led to thedeclaration of a number of Air Quality Management Areas, e.g. one waysystem in Gravesend town centre, A2, some of the junctions on Old RoadEast/West. The realignment of the A2 was completed in December 2008resulting in air quality improvements. The declaration for particulate matterwas revoked in January 2012 whilst the declared area for Nitrogen dioxidehas been reduced in size.4 Gravesend Wider Town Centre Baseline Report October 201116