Do a Google search for “false dawn” and chances are you will find more than a few pictures of Lowfield Street in Dartford.

Locals have understandably grown impatient and increasingly cynical over the site, with Tesco stalling on plans for a superstore for more than a decade.

But back in March, Dartford council’s planning board was relieved to give the go-ahead for new owner Meyer Homes to breathe life into the dilapidated area, with permission given for 548 homes, shops, a cafe and a microbrewery.

Kent Online can reveal that work will get under way well before the end of the year and the first signs of change will appear in the next few weeks.

Dartford council leader Cllr Jeremy Kite (Con) said: “There will be some disruption and diggers moving in, but it is all part of the plan that people say they want.

“We will have lots of builders in and work going on, probably for about 18 months in the town centre.

“Development is always disruptive but people deserve to know what’s happening and in the middle of August people will start to see new hoardings going up in Lowfield Street.

“People in Dartford have been looking at hoardings for too many years, so we have said to Meyer, ‘don’t put them up until work is starting’.”

Lowfield Street will be seen by many as the centrepiece development, but – as Kent Online revealed earlier this year – plenty else is afoot in the town.

The borough council has money to work with thanks to government funding of £4.3 million and £7.7 million from the Kent Thameside Strategic Transport Programme, with Market Street and Hythe Street other sites identified for major change.

Hythe Street could get a cinema, new shops, leisure and community facilities, and even a hotel, while Market Street will lose its disused bus stands to create a better link between Central Park and the High Street.

Station Quarter has been identified as a “gateway site” for Dartford, with small food, drink and retail outlets, plus offices, to create an inviting entrance to the town for visitors.

Changes here would complement the creation of an integrated transport hub providing easier access between Home Gardens and the railway station.

Fastrack’s presence in the town centre would be improved, possibly through the introduction of bendy buses to meet the needs of a new route through Ebbsfleet Garden City.

Dartford would become a town where pedestrians and cyclists are given priority over drivers, with improved routes in Hythe Street, Lowfield Street, Market Street and Spital Street.

Suffolk Road and Bulls Head Yard would be enhanced by the creation of an open space just south of the Orchard Theatre, which could get new street furniture and a cafe.

The council is also making its own investment in Acacia Hall, with work to get under way this year.

With Dartford set for major change, the borough council is launching a campaign to keep residents in the loop.

The Discover Dartford initiative will also aim to promote existing attractions through a new website, banners and posters around town, and more.

Regular updates about the regeneration work will be posted online and the website will also feature insight into Dartford’s history.

No launch date has been set, but council leader Cllr Jeremy Kite believes it will help keep people well informed about where they live.

“There’s an awful lot happening in Dartford and the campaign will not only provide information about the here and now, but also the future,” he said.

“It’s about trying to get people to think about the town in a different way.

“Residents deserve to know what’s happening in their town.”

The town centre renovation forms part of the council’s corporate plan, which was voted on at a meeting last week.

All six Labour councillors voted against it, with Cllr Mark Maddison slamming it as representing the council’s “paucity of vision”.

Independent Cllr Richard Lees abstained from voting, but all other members present voted in favour.

Cllr Kite told the opposition: “Every time we go to the public with what you describe as ‘a paucity of vision’, they seem to like it more and more.”

For live coverage of major Dartford council meetings, follow @KMDartford.