Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, working with Gravesham Borough Council, Creative Estuary and Northfleet Central CIO, has appointed The Halpern Charitable Foundation, best known as Nucleus Arts, as preferred operator to deliver a new creative enterprise and community building in Northfleet, providing a programme of youth, creativity, skill development and community activities. It’s an important step towards an ambition that first emerged from conversations with local stakeholders, and has grown with them ever since. It builds on the work of the Northfleet Place Partnership, which brings together three of these partners: Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, Gravesham Borough Council and Creative Estuary.
Nucleus Arts has been appointed early, well ahead of design and planning work, so they can help develop the plans and start building relationships with local businesses and residents before the site opens. They are keen to work with the community from the outset, testing and refining the offer for young people, local creatives, businesses and the wider community as the project develops. There’s still plenty of work and approvals to come before the project becomes a reality.
Sara Waller, Chief Executive Officer of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation said: “This is a really exciting step for Northfleet. What began as an idea shaped by local people is now becoming a reality, and appointing Nucleus Arts this early means they can carry on building those relationships and shaping the space around what the community actually wants, long before the doors open.”
Dr David Stokes, Chief Executive Officer of Nucleus Arts, said: “That is what we want to bring to Northfleet: a friendly, creative and inclusive space where people can meet, make, learn, work, grow and belong.”
Northfleet Pathway is a temporary scheme to bring a vacant site next to Northfleet Station back into good use – for creatives, local businesses and the community – whilst longer-term plans for the area are worked out. The site, the former Old Station Goods Yard, includes a building that started life as a railway electrical sub-station before later becoming an automotive garage, alongside the surrounding land.
Ebbsfleet Development Corporation owns the site, which is safeguarded for a potential future Crossrail extension beyond Abbey Wood, and a pedestrian link between Northfleet Station and Ebbsfleet International. While those longer-term decisions are pending, the project aims to put the site to good use for up to nine and a half years.
The plan has two parts. The existing building will be refurbished to create a lively, welcoming community space for local people, combining arts, creativity, youth activities and community groups under one roof. Around it, a series of enterprise units will provide space for creative practitioners, local businesses and social enterprises.
Together, these elements aim to support creativity, skills development and employment pathways for local people of all ages, particularly young people. The enterprise units won’t be used for heavy industry or disruptive machinery – they’re meant for low-impact, community-friendly businesses. The site will be shaped over time, building on everything HCF and Nucleus Arts have learned over more than 20 years, and around the needs, ideas and aspirations of the Northfleet community itself. The two elements work together: rent from the enterprise space will directly support youth activities, creating a financially sustainable model rather than one reliant on ongoing subsidy.
Over the rest of 2026, the project will move into design and community engagement, with a planning application expected in October and a decision expected later in the year – the next step before work can begin on site.
About Nucleus Arts
Nucleus Arts is the trading and operational arm of HCF and has grown into an award-winning creative and community organisation working across the Medway Towns. What started as an arts centre has developed into a growing network of creative spaces, community groups, artists and partnerships, all built around the belief that creativity can bring people together, improve wellbeing and create opportunities.
Their spaces provide affordable opportunities for artists and creative businesses, as well as places for people of all ages to meet, learn, make things and have fun – including groups supporting people who may otherwise feel isolated or disconnected from their community. At the heart of everything they do is the idea that arts and creativity should be for everyone: you don’t need to be an artist or have any previous experience, their spaces are designed to be welcoming, friendly places where people can simply come along, have a go and get involved
This ethos will carry through to Northfleet, where the enterprise units are intended as a pathway to skills and employment for local people of all ages, particularly young people.
Find out more
Visit the Commonplace website for the full proposals, timeline and latest news: www.northfleetpathway.commonplace.is
