Town February 2014

downsmail.co.uk

News Planning ‘worst state sincewar’

THE planning system has “been undone”, according to a prominent Lib Dem councillor. Cllr Tony Harwood, deputy chair-

man of the opposition group and spokesperson for the LibDems on the planning committee, says the Gov- ernment is at fault for large areas of previously protected open country- side being sacrificed for new housing. Several greenfield sites near rural villages like Marden and Headcorn are already in the process of becom- ing large housing estates, with more similar schemes proposed. Previous planning policies suc- ceeded in preventing such develop-

ment in open countryside, but gov- ernment directives in recent years re- quire councils to produce a five-year land supply for new homes if their core strategy is not up to date. Maidstone

Cllr Tony Harwood

has neither, with some de- lays arising from the Gov- ernment reject- ing

other councils’ core

strategies for having a housing target that is too low and forcing a rethink on the target for the borough. Maidstone Council is likely to set-

tle on a figure of between 17,100 and 19,600 homes until 2031,which isway above the 11,080 target until 2026 ear- marked in the South East Plan five years ago. Cllr Harwood said: “More than 40% of local councils in England andWales don’t have a five-year land supply and local plan. “It is almost commercially impossi- ble to produce a five-year land sup-

ply. We are in the worst situation since thewar in terms of there being a laissez-faire approach to planning, with no control. The planning system has been undone – it is as simple as that.” The situation is unlikely to change

until the council finally implements its Core Strategy, which has been ear- marked for summer 2015. However, the higher housing target meansmore land will have to be allocated for housing, possibly adding yet more delay to the timetable.

New garden village may be required to meet housing target

THE ‘Golding Garden Village’ in south east Maidstone could be back on the cards as the council faces up to providing a further 19,600 homes in the borough by 2031. Golding Homes unveiled a pro-

posal a year ago to create a 5,000- home garden suburb between theA20 and A274, west of the B2163 Leeds- Langley road, east of Otham Road, and south-west of Junction 8 of the M20. The 163-hectare scheme, which covers 90% of the parish of Otham, is considered a possible solution to the problem of spiralling housing targets.

Planning scrutiny committee chair- man Cllr Steve McLoughlin said he did not feel sufficiently qualified to agree to the figures put before mem- bers butwas happy to accept the offi- cers’ recommendations as correct. Although the council has an as-

sessed ‘need’ of 19,600 homes – about 980 new houses a year – officers have identified the potential to provide only 17,100 – a shortfall of 2,500. But chief planning officer Rob Jar-

man said the council’s core strategy was a “living document” and would be under constant evaluation from

year to year.He said statistics had re- vealed the need for more homes for the elderly, while the borough was still proving popular with young peo- ple and couples priced out of places like Sevenoaks and TunbridgeWells. Maidstone has researched its hous-

ing need in conjunction with Ashford and Tonbridge & Malling councils to strengthen its “robustness” but Mr Jarman said therewere still strong ar- guments for seeking mitigation. These included not building on the

flood plain around places like Yalding and Marden and the Kent Downs

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. He said the council would be able to argue that parts of the Medway, Len and Loose valleys should be pro- tected. Population growth in the borough

from 2001 to 2011 had been under- recorded, members were told, al- though there had been lower net migration than anticipated. Results of the council’s recent ‘call for sites’were due to be unveiled later this month but a further call for sites was likely after the February meeting of the full council.

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