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downsmail.co.uk Planners ‘ignoring public concern’
MAIDSTONE Council has been accused of snubbing local views with its approach to planning. Cllr John Horne, chairman of Maidstone’s Joint Parishes Group, spoke out after the council wrote to 241 landowners asking if they would consider making their suggested housing sites available for gypsies. The sites, submitted in response to
the council’s call for more develop- ment land for its draft local plan, but rejected for housing, could help re- duce the council’s need to find an- other 92 permanent gypsy pitches. But with national planning guid-
ance allowing for traveller sites in more rural locations than housing,
Cllr Horne says Maidstone Council’s letter has raised fears among resi- dents in areas including Headcorn, Ulcombe, Lenham and Yalding that they may get more sites. Maidstone Council has to provide
187 permanent traveller pitches within 16 years, but has so far given planning consent for just 75, with 23 sites identified in its draft local plan. A spokesman said: “Many of the
same planning considerations will apply to proposals for gypsy and traveller accommodation as apply to proposals for conventional housing. “It is the case, however, that na-
tional planning guidance draws a distinction between gypsy and trav-
Nicky off toworld games
DOWNSWOOD athlete Nicky Clif- ford has been selected to take part in theWorld Transport Games. The 140-strong Team GB and Northern Ireland – the largest repre- sentation for the Games – will join more than 1,000 athletes from 55 countries in Argentina on August 23. For Nicky, who will be competing
in the 3k race/walk and the table tennis tournament, the 20th world
games are especially poignant as she celebrated the 20th anniversary of her kidney transplant last July. Nicky (right) won golds at The
British Transplant Games in Bolton or the 3k race/walk and table tennis. Anyone who would like to sponsor
Nicky’s place on the team can do so at
www.JustGiving.com/NickyClif- ford1 or via JustTextGiving: CLIF48 (any amount) to 70070.
eller accommodation and conven- tional bricks and mortar housing.” Cllr Horne, who is also a member
of Thurnham Parish Council, says this latest move by the borough council is one in a long line of plan- ning decisions that have caused upset. He believes only an inde- pendent inquiry will restore the public’s faith in Maidstone Council’s planning policy, which he says is un- responsive to public concerns. Cllr Horne added: “If sites are not suitable for bricks and mortar hous- ing,howcan they be appropriate for caravan settlements that also have bricks and mortar buildings? “As parish councillors we are
elected members of local govern- ment, with a valid point of view to put forward on behalf of our local communities. During the local plan deliberationswe have played by the rules;we have jointly put forward a reasoned response to consultations and for this we engaged a planning consultant. All this has cost money. “We sought to take forward neigh- bourhood plans.We held local meet- ings with council leaders and planning officers. “In the end,we feelwe have been consistently snubbed
byMBC.There has been no dialogue. The time has now come for a public inquiry, with full privilege.”
Homes plan
THREE agricultural buildings in Ivy House Farm, Liverton Hill, near Lenham, could be converted into three homes. Maidstone Council will decide whether G Charlton & Sons can be given prior notification consent, which would bypass the planning application process.
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