Thanet District Council’s own port and harbour service asked for planning permission to use a cleared site at the Port of Ramsgate for public and commercial storage, with officers recommending approval subject to operating-hour and noise controls.

Thanet District Council’s Port and Harbour service has applied for planning permission to change the use of a 0.15-hectare cleared site at the Port of Ramsgate for the storage of 50 containers available to members of the public, alongside a temporary hangar for local businesses. Officers recommended that the planning committee approve the application when it met on 19 August 2026. The council had not published the minutes of that meeting at the time of writing, so the committee’s decision is not yet on the public record.

What is proposed

The application, reference F/TH/26/0355, proposes 50 shipping containers of typical size — approximately 2.5 metres high by 6.1 metres long — arranged along the northern, southern and western boundaries of the site, with a central run behind a 20-metre by 8-metre hangar. The hangar would have a pitched roof at around 6.5 metres in height, finished in powder-coated light grey metal. The containers would be rented to members of the public to support income for the Port. The hangar is intended for maritime-related workshop activities, specifically vessel repairs for local businesses. The site would be accessed via Military Road in a one-way arrangement.

Noise and operating hours

The council’s Environmental Health team noted that the council has previously received complaints regarding noise from port activities. As a result, strict conditions are proposed. The container park would be permitted to operate only between 07:30 and 19:30 Monday to Sunday. Hangar workshop activities would be restricted to 08:00–18:00 Monday to Friday and 08:00–13:00 on Saturdays, with no working on Sundays or Bank Holidays. No repair, maintenance or other operational activities would be permitted externally. A Noise Management Plan submitted by the applicant on 17 June 2026 must be fully implemented before first use of the development.

Heritage and conservation

The site lies close to the Ramsgate Conservation Area and near several listed structures including the Grade II* listed Royal Harbour and the Grade I listed buildings associated with St Augustine’s Abbey and The Grange. The council’s conservation officer concluded that while containers would be visible from the conservation area when looking over the clifftop towards the port, they would be “screened by, and seen in the context of, the surrounding port buildings and operational equipment” and were “not considered out of character with the operational activities associated with a working port”. No objection was raised on heritage grounds.

No public objections

Letters were sent to neighbouring property occupiers and a site notice was posted. No representations were received from the public. Officers recommended approval subject to six conditions covering contamination, operating hours, noise management, and external lighting.

Sources

Top image: Port of Ramsgate — Lieven Smits, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped).