downsmail.co.uk
News Shopping village ‘will hit town’
THE developer behind a plan to turnNewnham Court ShoppingVillage into a £100m “lifestyle and outdoor retail experience” admits it will hit town centre sales in Maidstone, if approved.
But the spokesman for Land Secu-
rities, Simon Hoare, says even if 27% of the site’s projected £63m turnover was at the expense of the town centre, thiswould still amount to only a 3.2% drop in takings, way below that deemed to be significant or capable of having an adverse impact. Detailed plans have been received
by Maidstone Council for the shop- ping redevelopment, which would treble the site’s shopping area and in- cludeWaitrose, Debenhams, lifestyle shops and an enlarged Nottcutts gar- den centre at the back of the site. Mr Hoare added: “In spite of our
plans, takings in the town are rising and will continue to rise. “One has to accept that out-of-town shopping is here, at places like Lake- side, Bluewater and Ashford, and Maidstone – not just the high street – is already losing money to them.” Mr Hoare says the 28,000sqm
scheme will not stop the town centre from retaining its diverse range of smaller businesses. He added: “We want to attract the
bigger retailers here, who say they want to come to Maidstone but have felt unable to do so thus far, not to be-
come a mini town centre.” He said proposals for a bus servicewould en- courage shoppers tomake “link trips” into town and Section 106 money could finance the extension of the town’s pedestrianisation scheme. Mr Hoare said: “The Newnham
Court redevelopment plans are not an either/or – they areaa‘both’, andwe are keen to ensure the project is com- plementary to the town. “We know it can deliver an effective
£100m investment in the town that will produce 1,000 new jobs and transform the retail park.” He said if approval was given, the
site and 900-space car park could be finished in three years.
Investment ‘will improve roads for motorists’
THERE would be changes to roads and traffic flows if Newnham Court Village was redeveloped. Land Securities spokesman Simon
Hoare said: “We are confident that the £5.5m of improvements this project is injecting into the public highways will see a step change for the better.” Proposals include:
moving the village access off
Bearsted Road to a slip road off the KIMS roundabout; traffic lights at junction 7 and the Bearsted Road/A249 and KIMS roundabouts; a dual carriageway between Bearsted Road/A249 and KIMS roundabouts; pedestrian crossings at both roundabouts.
When asked whether the dualling
would be done before, during or after work on the two-phase development, Mr Hoare said this would be decided by the council’s planning committee. Regarding disruption during works,
he added: “The road will continue in operation – the dualling would com- prise two new lanes sliced into the site’s land facing Bearsted Road.”
KIMS and Maidstone Medical Centre
Help your community by supporting the objection to building 39 houses on the wetland floodplain between Cross Keys and Sutton Street. Please write to your local MP, Hugh Robertson, to show the weight of local opinion against this plan.
Pr ed and houses under-water.
If the development goes ahead, imagine surrounding roads oodfl
Mary, who lives on The Street, already has water pouring into her property every time the Lilk River over-flows.
David has photos of when the wetland became so water- logged that their garden was a pond right up to their door.
Flooding is common on this land. Think of the effect of 39 homes!
I amtotally opposed to housing development on Lilk Meadow, which is also a precious natural
we value ou
Naomi Luhde-Thompson, Planning Advisor, Friends of the Earth
Maidstone East Edition January 2014 19
r beautiful village so highly" Paul Carter, Bearsted County Councill or and KCC Leader
-
rotec
ct Be
earst
ted
A249
Bearsted Road
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56