Battle of Britain, Northfleet

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Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain, Northfleet - geograph.org.uk - 1996123.jpg
Battle of Britain, Northfleet
Interactive map of Battle of Britain
Former namesShears Green House
General information
StatusIllegally demolished
TypePublic house; community memorial
Architectural styleConverted residential building
LocationColdharbour Road / New House Lane, Gravesend, Northfleet, England
Coordinates 51°25′33″N0°21′09″E / 51.4259°N 0.3526°E / 51.4259; 0.3526
Construction started1947 (temporary RAF-built structure)
Completed1961 (conversion of Shears Green House)
Opened1947
DemolishedOctober 2016
OwnerCharringtons (from 1961)
J.T. Davies & Sons (Brakspear Brewery) (final owner)
Known forLiving memorial to RAF Gravesend and the Battle of Britain; illegal demolition controversy

The Battle of Britain was a public house in Northfleet, Gravesend, Kent, originally established in 1947 as a wooden hut built by RAF personnel on the former Gravesend airfield. In 1961, the nearby Shears Green House was converted into a permanent pub, serving as both a social venue and a living memorial to Gravesend’s wartime aviation heritage. RAF Gravesend, a key fighter station during the Second World War, was the first RAF base to operate the P‑51 Mustang and saw action during the 1940 Battle of Britain. In October 2016, the pub was illegally demolished by Putnam Construction Services, on behalf of landowners Brakspear brewery and their consultants, the Caldecotte Group. [1]

Contents

History

The Battle of Britain began life in 1947 as a small wooden hut built by RAF personnel on the former Gravesend airfield. In 1961 the nearby Shears Green House was converted into a permanent pub and renamed the Battle of Britain. The pub was a large ex-Charringtons estate pub with multiple bars, function rooms and a big garden with a children’s play area. [2] It also served as a living memorial to Gravesend’s wartime aviation heritage. (RAF Gravesend was a key fighter station in the Second World War – in fact it was the first RAF base to operate the American P‑51 Mustang fighter -and it saw action during the 1940 Battle of Britain.)

The pub operated for almost 70 years [3] as a local landmark and community hub. Its landlord often hosted family events and charity gatherings, and the friendly atmosphere made it a multi‑generational meeting place. [4]

Closure and illegal demolition

Suddenly in October 2016 the Battle of Britain pub closed, [5] and shortly afterward it was illegally demolished [6] by Putnam Construction Services, on behalf of landowners Brakspear brewery and their consultants, the Caldecotte Group. [1] Gravesham Borough Council later confirmed that the building was taken down “around 11 October 2016” without planning permission, even though a formal demolition notice was still under review (and had in fact been refused). [7] In other words, the pub was torn down before any permission was granted. The council therefore refused the developer’s retrospective demolition application. [8]

Aftermath

Local residents and pub campaigners immediately protested. Groups like CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) called on the council to use its powers to require a rebuild, [9] citing the Carlton Tavern case in London (2015) as precedent. In that case the developers had illegally demolished a pub and were later ordered by a public inquiry to rebuild it “brick by brick”. [10] However, in Gravesham the campaign met resistance. By late 2023 CAMRA noted that the council had still taken no enforcement action to restore the pub; in fact the local branch commented that the authority had “effectively endorsed the criminal demolition” by declining to compel a rebuild. [11] Councillors said the site was privately owned land, [12] not a listed building, [13] and that buying or rebuilding the pub was not financially viable. [14] The campaigners eventually acknowledged that forcing a full reconstruction was unlikely to succeed.

In December 2016, Gravesham Borough Council refused to designate the Battle of Britain pub site in Northfleet as a community asset following its unlawful demolition. It had also refused to issue an order protecting local pubs on a "wholesale basis." [15]

Fly tipping incident

In December 2016, the site of the former Battle of Britain pub on Coldharbour Road, Northfleet, was the target of a large-scale waste dump. Subsequently, in October 2018, two men were fined thousands of pounds after large amounts of waste were dumped at the site - more than two years after the building had been illegally demolished. The rubbish was unloaded at the site and elsewhere, leading to prosecutions and fines for fly‑tipping offences. [16]

Redevelopment

After several years of the site lying empty (and after some deferred housing proposals), the former pub site was sold for redevelopment. In 2024 it was announced that Frontier Estates had sold the 1.16‑acre plot (formerly the Battle of Britain pub) for a new care home project. [17] Planning permission was granted to build a 75‑bedroom care home on the site. The new facility – named Squadron Manor – is being developed by Morar Living and is expected to open in 2026. [18] Thus the historic pub itself was not rebuilt; instead, the site is now being repurposed for an elderly care home, with the redevelopment acknowledging but not restoring the former pub.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Popular pub pulled down 'by mistake', planning boss admits". Kent Online. 2016-12-12. Retrieved 2025-12-20. The former RAF drinking hole was run by the site landowners, Brakspear brewery whose planning consultants, the Caldecotte Group, instructed demolition company Putnam Construction Services to demolish it. When asked why the building was torn down before permisson was given Caldecotte director Paul Sturgess said: "There was an unfortunate error on our part, due to a miscommunication."
  2. ↑ "Battle of Britain, Northfleet". CAMRA - The Campaign for Real Ale. 2023-12-27. Retrieved 2025-12-20. Large ex-Charrington estate pub, with lots of space and seating areas, as well as a very large garden offering many facilities for children's play.
  3. ↑ "Kent pub campaigners vow to 'fight on' despite setbacks". BBC News. 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2025-12-20. Despite protests when the bulldozers rolled in, demolition began without permission on the 70-year-old pub in October.
  4. ↑ "Battle of Britain, Northfleet". CAMRA - The Campaign for Real Ale. 2023-12-27. Retrieved 2025-12-20. Large ex-Charrington estate pub, with lots of space and seating areas, as well as a very large garden offering many facilities for children's play. Landlord is an experienced hotelier and is keen to cater for private functions, as well as looking to expand his range of real ale and food.
  5. ↑ "BATTLE OF BRITAIN Pub of Northfleet". www.dover-kent.com. Retrieved 2025-12-20. Local news (29 September 2016) suggests that the pub is about to close and the last day will be 2nd October 2016.
  6. ↑ "Kent pub campaigners vow to 'fight on' despite setbacks". BBC News. 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2025-12-20. The Battle of Britain pub was knocked down without council permission in October
  7. ↑ Gravesham Borough Council. Cabinet Public Reports Pack – Gravesham Borough Council (22 March 2021). For example for planning application 20171245 (Site of Battle of Britain, Coldharbour Road, Northfleet). This planning application came forward in controversial circumstances due to the unauthorised demolition of the Battle of Britain public house (PH) around 11 October 2016, whilst the Prior Notification of Proposed Demolition Application was under consideration by the Council. The Council refused this prior notification application.
  8. ↑ Gravesham Borough Council. Cabinet Public Reports Pack – Gravesham Borough Council (22 March 2021). The Council refused this prior notification application. However, the subsequent application for residential development had to be considered on its own merits and in terms of planning matters only i.e. the Development Plan and material planning considerations such as the Framework.
  9. ↑ "Kent pub campaigners vow to 'fight on' despite setbacks". BBC News. 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2025-12-20. Supported by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), 500 residents pushed for the pub site to be listed as a community asset, so developers would have to rebuild it. That was refused by the council as the flattened remains do not "further the social wellbeing or social interest of the local community". The group since contacted the council to instate an Article 4 order to make it harder to change the use of, or demolish, other local pubs.
  10. ↑ Lloyd, Gary (2023-08-11). "CAMRA demands pubs be rebuilt 'brick by brick' after illegal demolition". MorningAdvertiser.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-12-20. CAMRA has demanded pubs that have been converted or demolished illegally must be rebuilt "brick by brick" after finding more than 30 sites may have suffered such fates in the past six months.
  11. ↑ "Battle of Britain, Northfleet". CAMRA - The Campaign for Real Ale. 2023-12-27. Retrieved 2025-12-20. It is to be hoped that Gravesham Council will act in the best interests of the local community in pursuing remedial action, but they are certainly taking their time about it (1/19). Update 12/23. By declining to take the necessary enforcement action, Gravesham Borough Council have effectively endorsed the criminal demolition of The Battle of Britain. Many local people remain mystified as to why the Council declined to use the powers available to them that could have compelled the guilty party to rebuild the Battle of Britain for the benefit of the local community, who are now left without any sort of social hub over a wide area of the town.
  12. ↑ "Popular pub pulled down 'by mistake', planning boss admits". Kent Online. 2016-12-12. Retrieved 2025-12-20. A council spokeswoman said: "The fly-tipping on the Battle of Britain site is on private land
  13. ↑ "Kent pub campaigners vow to 'fight on' despite setbacks". BBC News. 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2025-12-20. In December Gravesham Borough Council refused to list the Battle of Britain pub site in Northfleet as a community asset after it was illegally torn down.
  14. ↑ "Boost in bid to have pub rebuilt 'brick by brick'". Kent Online. 2016-11-18. Retrieved 2025-12-20. Mr Cook said: "Of course you can't expect people to run an unviable business, but in this case it seems the developer knew it would be bought up as a pub. "But housing on the same plot of land sells for much more than a pub ever would."
  15. ↑ "Kent pub campaigners vow to 'fight on' despite setbacks". BBC News. 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2025-12-20. In December Gravesham Borough Council refused to list the Battle of Britain pub site in Northfleet as a community asset after it was illegally torn down. It has now also declined to make an order protecting local pubs on a "wholesale basis".
  16. ↑ "Men fined thousands after waste dumped". Kent Online. 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2025-12-20.
  17. ↑ "A development site in Gravesend, Kent, with planning for a 75-bedroom care home has sold". Christie & Co. 2024-05-22. Retrieved 2025-12-20. The site sits on a highly prominent circa 1.16-acre plot in Northfleet, Gravesend, which was formerly occupied by the Battle of Britain pub. Following a confidential sales process with Sara Hartill at Christie & Co, the site has been purchased by Simply UK and will operate under the Morar Living brand.
  18. ↑ "Opening date revealed for care home built on site of demolished pub". Kent Online. 2025-12-20. Retrieved 2025-12-20. Squadron Manor, which has been erected on the site of the former Battle of Britain, in Northfleet, is due to officially open in January, with some residents moving in at the end of the year [2026].
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