Christmas grotto and events space planned for Bluewater shopping centre near Dartford

Kent’s biggest shopping centre is looking to install a Christmas grotto.Bluewater shopping centre has applied to Dartford council for permission to install the festive attraction and to keep its ice rink for another five years.Ice rink at Bluewater this Christmas. Picture: UMPFBlueco, which owns the massive mall in Greenhithe has commissioned Quod planning consultants to get permission from the local authority.If approved, the Christmas grotto attraction will be installed outside, near the ice rink.“The Christmas grotto comprises a single storey traditional style wooden building,” planning documents explain.“The structure will be erected from prefabricated cabins with metal framework and a weatherproof texture coated plywood.“The grotto will sit on the Astroturf surface and contain three main rooms.”Bluewater is the largest shopping centre in Kent. Picture: BluewaterHowever, a Bluewater spokesperson confirmed the grotto will not be built and opened this year - but instead will open the following year if given the green light.This year they will instead host a Christmas grotto in one of the units in the shopping centre itself, which they are calling the “Elf on the Shelf Christmas adventure”.The ice rink is already installed and is set to open from November 12 - January 5.But under these plans, the structure will stay in place until 2029, hosting the ice rink from October to January every year.Quod write that the ice rink marquee will also be used for “Beauty events, jobs fairs, the Dartford council awards and wedding fairs”.Planning documents stress that the proposals will “not affect existing access” to the shopping Centre.House of Fraser is leaving BluewaterHouse of Fraser, one of the original anchor stores at the hulking commercial complex, recently announced details in-store of its upcoming closure, which is said to be November 27.The department store, which occupies a large unit on both floors of the out-of-town mall, is offering 20% discounts to empty the shop before then.The corner spot is a prime location offering footfall from the car park to the centre and it’s strongly rumoured clothing giant Next, just a few doors along, is set to take over the site.Outerwear brand Belstaff opened at the centre on October 24, and cosmetics brand Aesop will open a shop at Bluewater on November 16.Swedish fashion brand Lindex will also be moving in on November 28.James Waugh, centre director at Bluewater, previously said: “We are about to embark on one of the busiest and most exciting times in Bluewater’s 25-year history and these openings will be followed by some other fantastic brands very soon.”A number of additional pop-up stores have opened in the run-up to the festive season - including the Christmas Supermarket and Calendar Club.We are about to embark on one of the busiest and most exciting times in Bluewater’s 25-year historyA spokesperson for the shopping centre said: “Bluewater’s ice rink has been a much-loved festive addition to the shopping centre for many years, and we’re looking forward to welcoming it back this November.“The planning submission in question is a renewal of a previous planning permission that had been granted by Dartford council in past years.“The grotto structure mentioned in the planning submission is an attraction that we hope to bring to Bluewater in the coming years.“This Christmas, our guests can look forward to a never-seen-before interactive, theatrical experience – The Elf on the Shelf Christmas Adventure – with tickets on sale now.“This attraction will be located on the Upper Rose Gallery, next to River Island.”Dartford council is consulting on the plans, and residents can comment on the application until November 7.It is not yet known when its planning committee will decide on the bid, but a target of December 11 has been set.