Ebbsfleet starts dormouse habitat work ahead of 2,100-home town centre scheme

Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC) has started work on about 2.3 hectares of habitat for hazel dormice at Ebbsfleet Central, the site of a planned town centre around Ebbsfleet International station in north Kent.

The corporation said the habitat-improvement work, which began on 9 November, is intended to have the protected species settled before construction of the mixed-use town centre is due to start in 2028.

EDC said the planned town centre works will affect some existing dormouse habitat, which is why it is acting early. The 2.3 hectares, which it likened to three football pitches, will combine new and improved habitat.

Specialist habitat contractors, guided by EDC's ecological advisers Stantec, are improving existing scrub and woodland and planting new trees and scrub, the corporation said.

The timing

The work has been scheduled for winter while the dormice are hibernating. EDC said the first phase of habitat work is due to be completed in December 2026, with maintenance continuing into 2027.

The corporation describes Ebbsfleet Central as the new business district and town centre planned around Ebbsfleet International station. Its timeline page describes the wider Ebbsfleet Central site, acquired in 2019, as 125 hectares (310 acres).

The consented scheme

The habitat work precedes Ebbsfleet Central East, the first consented part of the town centre. In a March 2026 announcement, EDC said outline planning permission for the scheme had been approved. It covers the regeneration of 34.86 hectares of brownfield land around the station.

The masterplan is centred on about 2,100 new homes, including at least 35% affordable housing, according to EDC. The corporation's July 2024 announcement described the scheme as including 87,000m2 of office space, retail and leisure facilities.

David Prout CB, Chair of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation Board, said in March: "Getting started on Ebbsfleet Garden City's town centre is one of our key priorities for the next few years."

The 2028 construction start date appears in EDC's November announcement; its March planning statement and timeline page gave no start date.

Background

EDC's Planning Committee resolved in July 2024 to grant outline planning consent for Ebbsfleet Central East, some 20 months before the corporation announced that permission had been approved.

The corporation said it bought the Ebbsfleet Central land in 2019 following a lack of progress by the private sector owners. It acts as both landowner and planning authority: according to GOV.UK, EDC is the planning authority for Ebbsfleet garden city.

EDC was established in 2015 and is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. GOV.UK says the government set it up to speed up delivery of up to 15,000 homes and create a garden city in north Kent. EDC's own website says its remit is to facilitate delivery of up to 15,000 homes across 2,500 acres of brownfield land.

EDC said it does not expect the habitat work to disrupt residents and will post updates as it progresses. The first phase is due to finish in December 2026.