Mixed reception for homes plans on village sites
Marden residents have been responding to plans for two housing developments in the village. Redrow Homes has submitted a planning application for 112 homes to the west of Goudhurst Road, and Phase 2 Planning and Development Ltd has revealed its proposals for up to 150 homes on land to the east of Goudhurst Road.
ALMOST 150 visitors went to Marden Memorial Hall to view proposals and speak to devel- opers about plans for up to 150 homes in the village. The scheme by Phase 2 Plan-
ning and Development Ltd would be based around three sites: The Street, where homes will be closer together and in- clude affordable housing; The Green, where houses will be built around a grassed area; and The Orchard, an area of low density housing with trees. Hazel and Dave Clark have
lived in Marden for more than 30 years and own a house in Napoleon Drive. At the exhibi- tion, Mrs Clark (74) said she and her 77-year-old husband were chiefly concerned about possible drainage problems that could be caused by more development as well as park- ing issues in the village. However, the couple recog-
nised that new houses were needed and approved of the lay-
out.Mrs Clark said: “You’ve got to have new houses for the
younger people in the village. If only the older generation is able to buy houses here, then even- tually the village will die. I was pleased to see the design wasn’t all rows of houses, and I like the idea of a village green.” Emily Holdstock and Daniel Reeves, both 26 and of Oak Tree Close, were looking to buy their first house and were pleased to have an opportunity to do so in Marden. Miss Holdstock said: “There’s
a lack of affordable housing for first time buyers in nice areas so it would be good to have some- where within the village where we could potentially buy a home. Itwould be nice to know how ‘on top of each other’ the homes in The Street would be, because we might want more space in the future.” The couple stressed that the homes should be in keeping with the rest of the village. Director Kevin Coleman
spoke to visitors at the exhibi- tion. He told the Downs Mail: “So far a range of views have
Marden PC chairman Dorothy Reed, residents Hazel and Dave Clark, Mayor of Maidstone Cllr Rodd Nelson-Gracie, and parish vice-chairman Maria Brown, and right, Kevin Coleman
been expressed, some positive and some against new housing. Because they are aware Mar- den has been earmarked for de- velopment, most people are accepting something is going to happen here and they are looking at the options with an open mind.” Mr Coleman said he was
aware drainage was a big con- cern among residents. He said containers would collect and store water, releasing it at a slower rate than it currently leaves the site. Allotments would feature in
the development, and would be made available to the wider community, and open space would be provided for public
parkland, children’s play areas and ecology and wildlife use. The developer has also pledged to implement traffic calming measures on Goud- hurst Road. Mr Coleman concluded: “Peo-
ple rightly want to know that matters such as the traffic and drainage implications are being taken in to account, and the ex- hibition provided us with the opportunity to explain thework that we have been doing to en- sure that such issues have been properly addressed.”
Drainage and flooding among concerns
MARDEN Parish Council has opposed plans for a large development in the vil- lage, following a heated emergency meet- ing with members of the public. An extraordinary full council meeting
was called to discuss plans by developer Redrow for over 100 homes to the west of Goudhurst Road. Cllr Lesley Mannington said Marden’s sewage system was “woefully inade- quate”, certain areas of the village fre- quently flooded and water pressure was often low in other areas. Cllr Maria Brown asked how the village would ever be able to afford drainage improvements without money from developers. Councillors also objected to a three-
storey apartment block, which Cllr Ian Newton said reminded him of a Victorian workhouse. Councillors agreed theywere not against development on the site in principle but could not support the application in its present form. They said they would not approve the plans until they had seen re- ports from the Environment Agency and Kent Highway Services. The development, which would include
100 family houses and 12 apartments with 40% affordable housing, allotments, a children’s play trail and habitat areas, is proposed for the MAP depot, the former base of Marden Apple Packers. Other is-
28 South
MEMBERS of the public raised a number of issues: Fiona said itwas insensitive andwould be an eyesore for people entering Marden. Kim said drainage problems should be re- solved before more houseswere built. Colin slammed the developer for submit- ting proposals before Maidstone Council’s Core Strategy or Marden’s neighbourhood planwere in place. Nikki saidmore homeswould lead to more traffic congestion. Matt said not enough parking spaces had been proposed. Stephen said smaller propertieswere needed by first time buyers not the four and five bedroom houses in the proposal.
sues raised by councillors and residents included the visual impact on the rest of the village, loss of employment as the site would no longer have industrial units on it, the potential for flooding, capacity at Marden Primary School, and road safety, parking and access issues. One resident said: “Redrow should lis-
ten to local people to find out local knowl- edge”.
Redrow representative Judith Ashton
said drainage and other improvements would be looked at. She said the devel- oper had consulted representatives for Kent Highway Services, KCC’s education
department and the Environment Agency before submitting the plans. Borough
Cllr
Annabelle Blackmore (pictured) said it was “refreshing” to hear people in Marden ac- cepted that there needed to be develop- ment but wanted a say in where it went and what form it took. Speaking after the meeting, resident Kim
Gibbs told the Downs Mail: “I’m happy there was no ‘NIMBYism’ (not inmy back- yard) and everyone was able to have their say. We just hope our views will be lis- tened to.” Also speaking to the Downs Mail after
the meeting, a Redrow spokesman said: “We are committed to bringing high qual- ity family homes to Marden and regener- ating a former brownfield site. “We have made significant efforts to ensure the new homes proposed for this location comple- ment the neighbouring residential proper- ties. The proposed development would also bring a significant proportion of much needed affordable homes to the village.” Comments from councillors and mem-
bers of the public will be passed to Maid- stone Council’s planning committee for further debate.
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