Maidstone Borough Council 7 Meeting the borough’s housing need
Maidstone’s growing population means that the borough will have to provide for up to 14,800 houses between 2011 and 2031. It is likely that we will need to find additional land for about 4,500 homes to meet a target of 14,800 dwellings. No decisions have been made. Everyone will have a chance to get involved. The council will want residents and others to get involved in the debate about where new growth should take place and the future shape of our borough.
Call for sites To find out if the demand placed on our borough can be met the council was required to carry out a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment. At the same time the council looked for employment sites and gypsy and traveller sites. The first stage in the process was a public call for sites during December 2012 and January 2013. The council advertised that it was looking for sites through adverts on its website and in local papers. It contacted everyone on its planning database, including developers, agents, planning consultants and the public.
Equal
consideration 160 housing sites and 15 mixed schemes of varying sizes were
suggested throughout the borough. The council must give equal consideration to every site or risk judicial review and financial penalties. Every site will be considered for sustainable location, policy constraints, physical and infrastructure
constraints – ecology, highways issues, access to services, flood risk, landscape, heritage impacts, and adjacent uses, etc. No decisions have been made about any sites. The council will consult on its preferred housing and employment sites and gypsy and traveller sites in the Autumn.
Population forecasts
The housing target is based on the latest demographic forecasts, updated by Kent County Council, taking account of Department for Communities and Local Government household projections released in November 2010. The 10-year historic trend for Maidstone
demonstrates a need for 14,800 dwellings between 2011 and 2031, which will increase the resident labour supply by 7,600 workers.
Public
consultation The public will have a minimum of 6 weeks to comment on the sites. The consultation will be advertised in local papers and the council’s website. We will contact everyone who has responded to previous consultations on the local plan. Look out for more information in future issues of Borough Update.
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