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New village | downsmail.co.uk Lib Dems back village plan


Continued from page one Headded: “Our urban settlements


– whether villages or the town – are having every green space filled in. For example, Harrietsham has de- veloped historically as a number of hamlets rather than one homoge- nous area, but its character is being replaced by a faceless dormitory. “If Maidstone town and borough


is going to retain its character we need to think outside the box and the only thing would be to build a new settlement.” Cllr Harwood says the homes


would be built on what he considers unattractive agricultural land mainly used for grazing and cereal production. “If you look east along theA20 and towards Lenham Heath there is a lot of land between theA20 and M20. “There are few hedges and trees in


these arable fields and we could ac- commodate a really good chunk of housing. It would effectively create a third village along the A20 next to Harrietsham and Lenham. “Currently the plan is to almost double the size of villages such as Marden, Headcorn and Staplehurst, as well as making it hellish along Loose Road and Sutton Road. “But the road and rail infrastruc- ture that can bear extra traffic is


along the A20 corridor, especially along the eastern end, where some traffic will go to Ashford as well as Maidstone, reducing collateral dam- age from the development.” Apotential stumbling block in Cllr Harwood’s idea is that the land north of the proposed new village is part of the protected Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which mightmakeany large new development set a dangerous precedent.


Lib Dem Cllr Tony Harwood and leader Fran Wilson have spoken out on the plan for a new village near Lenham


Scheme could put support at risk Comment By Stephen Eighteen, Editor


LIB Dem leader Fran Wilson was un- derstandably reluctant to whole- heartedly back her deputy Tony Harwood’s idea for a new village south-east of Lenham. While the concept is broadly in line


with Lib Dem policy, electorally Cllr Harwood is playing a dangerous game. Were it not for Ukip’s four council-


lors snubbing the Conservative group’s invitation to form a coalition after last May’s local elections left Maidstone Council with no overall


control, the Lib Dems’ decision-mak- ing powers in 2014-15 would have been severely limited. The Lib Dems havemade the most


of the Conservative group’s minority administration by wresting control of the planning committee and forcing through a vote to replace the cabinet system with committees across the board fromMay this year. These feats have only been


achieved through cordiality with other parties, particularly Ukip, whose leader Eddie Powell represents Harri- etsham and Lenham. Acornerstone of Ukip’s local policy


Heritage ‘would be destroyed’


CLLR Eddie Powell (Ukip), who represents Harrietsham and Lenham on Maidstone Council, was against the plan. He said: “A village of this sort


would totally destroy the heritage of Lenham and Charing: two beau- tiful villages in an area of outstand- ing natural beauty. “Lenham is already under pres-


sure to deliver housing that could potentially see its population tre- ble. Comments like this do not help a fragile situation such as this. “My more cynical side suggests


that the Liberal Democrat party has nothing to lose by suggesting an area to build where they don’t in- tend standing, which would of


course deflect from Maidstone where they have a parliamentary candidate.” Colin Gillett, chairman of


Lenham Parish Council, said: “This is complete news to us. There has been no discussion or presentation from Maidstone Council planners or from our borough councillors. “It comes as a shock as Lenham is


trying to prepare a neighbourhood plan against tremendous pressure created by the current borough council’s desire to see the Lenham village treble in population. “We wonder whether this is just political posturing prior to an elec- tion campaign. This type of posi- tion statement from a borough councillor creates uncertainty in a community already under threat; it is simply not fair to have residents treated in thisway.”


Project ‘could not finance services’


COUNCILLOR Annabelle Black- more, the leader of Maidstone Council, said: “Presently no land has come forward for a self-con- tained village in the location of Lenham Heath. “The draft local plan already in-


cludes 245 new homes and a broad allocation of 1,500 homes in and around Lenham from 2026, if the homes are still required. “It is unlikely that 2,000 houses in a self-contained settlement would


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pay for all the necessary services and facilities needed for a new community, let alone a railway sta- tion. The council chose a sustain- able dispersed strategy making full use of and improving existing serv- ices and facilities. “This strategy allows us to retain


the vast majority of the borough’s open spaces and green fields, which are extremely important. “There is no housing target, the borough’s objectively-assessed


Maidstone East February 2015


housing need is 18,600. The method which calculates the objectively-as- sessed need has been reviewed in- dependently, and is deemed sound. We will need strong evi- dence to support providing a lesser figure as has been illustrated by a number of local plan examinations nationally. “The sooner Maidstone Council


has a local plan in place, this will allow us to resist planning applica- tions for areaswewant to protect.”


is to preserve all greenfield sites so Cllr Powellwas horrifiedby Cllr Harwood’s ambition for a village on his patch. With local elections looming in


May, Cllr Wilson knows her party’s leverage on the council is dependent not only on strong relationships within her own group but most likely with those of minority parties aswell. Cllr Harwood’s outspokenness in


this paper is said to have caused a stir in his own party and may also have created a division with those the Lib Demsmay rely on comeMay. The local elections just got more in-


teresting. Vision for


the future HOWMaidstone should move forward, according to Cllr Tony Harwood The 18,600 figure in the draft local plan is a result of success in developing brownfield land a decade ago and should be re- duced by at least a third.  Policies are needed to pro- tect countryside in the Low Weald (near Headcorn, Staple- hurst and Marden) and Green- sand Ridge (near Boughton Malherbe, Ulcombe, Sutton Valence, Linton, Hunton and Yalding).  The Sutton Road corridor is unsuitable for large housing developments because the road network cannot cope.  Infrastructure schemes such as the south-east link road and Maidstone Gateway HS1 rail- way station should be rejected because they would create more pressure for new hous- ing.  The Detling Aerodrome es- tate could be a high-tech in- dustrial park, but is too far from a railway station to re- alise KCC leader Paul Carter’s vision for it to become a large new housing estate.


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