downsmail.co.uk
Council: ‘We are doing all we can’
MAIDSTONE Council’s head of planning Rob Jarman says he will be asking KCC for full details of its alternative housing sites. He said: “The objectively as-
sessed housing need for Maidstone borough is 19,600 homes up to 2031 but no target for house building has been set. If space cannot be found and suitable infrastructure cannot be supplied, the council must be able to submit evidence as to why this is the case or risk hav- ing the local plan rejected. “KCC has been consulted about infrastructure. We look forward to seeing its evidence on the future provision of transport, education, social care and community facilities to support growth in the borough.” Mr Jarman said the council had
been working with Design South East to engage with rural commu- nities and the council had reached a huge number of people through its public exhibitions. Mr Jarman as- sured that every representation would be considered by the bor- ough before it published an amended plan for public comment at the end of the year. He said: “When adopted, the
local plan will give the council power to refuse development in unsuitable areas. Before Maidstone Council can adopt the plan, it must prove to a government planning in- spector that it has done all it can, along with KCC and other infra- structure providers, to meet the borough’s objectively-assessed housing need.”
Green belt idea for town
Continued from page one The document criticises the bor-
ough council for failing to consult the parishes during the planning stage and alleges residents’ views in places such as Coxheath, Staple- hurst, Headcorn and Marden were not taken into account. KCC objects to the following housing developments: Invicta Barracks (1,300) Springfield, Royal Engineers
Road and Mill Lane (950 homes) South of Sutton Road, Langley
(930) Bicknor Farm, Otham (335) It also wants a 20% reduction in village developments in places such as Marden, Staplehurst, Head- corn and Coxheath and the reten- tion of a green belt around town, preventing unfettered urban sprawl. “The ongoing and incessant
urban sprawl of Maidstone into the countryside must cease,” says the report.
Local plan | News
KCC acts to cut queues in south-east Maidstone
A £40MILLION partial bypass would alleviate congestion south-east of Maidstone, according to KCC.
However, the county council has admitted that its idea to channel traffic away from Leeds village will not be the solution to congestion that residentswanted. In its response to Maidstone Council’s draft local plan, the county council has proposed to build a new road linking the south- ern part of Penfold Hill to Upper Street just north of Langley Heath. The road would serve 200 new homes proposed by the county council east of Upper Street, Leeds. There would also be a new road coming from a widened Burberry Lane to a new development of 550 homes north-west of Kingswood. Gary Cooke, KCC member for Maidstone South East, said: “The south eastern area of Maidstone has a number of infrastructure chal- lenges, not least of which is the amount of congestion on the local road network. “The closure of the B2163 at
Leeds has very clearly demon- strated the vulnerability of the local road network in this corner of Maidstone. It has placed an intoler- able burden on the balance of the network, not least on Willington Street, which has had to act as a di- versionary route. “Iamtherefore especially pleased
to see thatKCCis proposing the up- grading of roads adjacent to Leeds that will effectively provide a par- tial bypass solution. “This will not only provide relief
to the centre of Leeds village but should then also help to alleviate some of the congestion that besets Willington Street. It is not the full blown Leeds/Langley bypass that I know some residents would have preferred, but this is a very positive development and should be greatly welcomed.” Neither of the two sites, nor the proposal for 1,000 homes at Detling Aerodrome, are allocated in Maid-
KCC’s plan shows where it wants new housing and new roads east of Leeds
stone Council’s draft local plan, yet KCC insists Maidstone Council’s target of 19,600 homes between 2011 and 2031 can still be reduced. Council leader Paul Carter said: “Kings Hill has been a phenomenal success and continues to grow. There is no reason why we could not have something similar at Detling, whichwould not only pro- vide housing but be a good com- mercial centre. It has good transport links and is close to the motorway.” KCC wants to see some of the al- located urban fringe sites with in- frastructure constraints removed from the plan and reduced num- bers of new-build in some of the borough’s villages. Overall, it wants to see the hous-
ing target set at a “more sensible figure” of about 14,500 homes. Tak- ing into account existing approved sites and also windfall sites, this would reduce the number of new homes required to just 8,640. Cllr Carter told Downs Mail in February that he had ordered a re- port to prove that the borough
council’s 19,600 figure, reached in a study by consultant GLHearn,was incorrect. There is speculation among bor-
ough council members that the KCC report was completed in late March and showed that the methodology used by GL Hearn was correct. However, Cllr Carter said: “We were told it would be three to four weeks but is still only a third in draft. I am disappointed the consultants have not delivered and I have asked for officers to read them the riot act. “KCC believes that the system
used to calculate MBC’s housing need is fundamentally flawed, rely- ing on historic delivery rates to pre- dict future growth trends. “Maidstone has had considerable growth, far in excess of the South East Plan targets, and its infrastruc- ture is creaking. “Therefore, to continue to predict
this trend into the future, given the current pressure on Maidstone’s in- frastructure, is flawed and unrealis- tic.”
Lib Dems support county’s intervention
MAIDSTONE’s Lib Dem group has backed KCC’s response to the draft local plan. Leader Cllr Fran Wilson said:
“In general terms we welcome the KCC document – we whole- heartedly agree and support Paul Carter’s statement that the pro- posed 19,600 housing target for Maidstone Borough is ‘undeliv- erable, unsustainable and would diminish the quality of life for people already living in and
around Maidstone’. “However, this is not the time
to pluck some reduced figure out of the air which has not been tested or underpinned – as both Maidstone Council and KCC are currently doing. “The average housing need fig-
ure across Kent boroughs is just under 11,000. We are determined to get as close to this as possible. We expect robust work to be done to look at every aspect of the bor-
ough and provide evidence for the lowest figure possible. Al- though transport is an extremely important issue, infrastructure means much more than this: schools, doctors surgeries, hospi- tal places, water, sewage etc are all part of the equation.” A spokesman for CPRE Protect
Kent said: “We welcome the fact that KCC clearly shares some of our concerns about the excessive housing targets proposed. “
Maidstone South May 2014 31
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