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Protest at plan for 850 homes
CAMPAIGNERS are facing an- other battle to prevent hundreds of homes being built on land south of Sutton Road, Maidstone. Maidstone Council still has a shortfall of more than 1,000 on its local plan target of 18,560 homes be- tween 2011 and 2031, so officers have recommended an allocation of 850 homes at Langley Park Farm. The idea came before the strategic planning committee, less than a week after developer Countryside Properties hosted an exhibition out- lining a proposal for 850 homes as well as a school on the land. Cllr Cheryl Taylor Maggio, chair-
manof Langley Parish Council,was at the exhibition. She said: “The housing density is high, at 35 houses per acre, and there will be blocks of 3.5-storey town houses – an urban development in the countryside – which extends from LangleyPark to St Mary's Church, including the golf driving range. The view of St Mary's Church on the approach down the hill to Langley would be blocked by housing.” In March, objectors thought they
had successfully protected the land from development when an alloca- tion of 600 homes was removed from the list of sites on the draft local plan because itwas considered an unacceptable “encroachment of the urban area”, given that about 2,000 homes in the Sutton Road cor- ridor had recently been built or given planning permission.
CllrPaulina Stockell, amember of
the committee, said: “I am ab- solutely staggered. It gets worse and worse. Enough is enough.We now hear there is going to be a school, when there is already going to be a school at the Langley Park develop- ment nearby. “There will be 2,000 homes there
and another 850 on here. There will be an unacceptable
impact.Nothing has changed since itwas refused be- fore. The traffic in rush hour goes all theway back to SuttonValence. For this development to go all the way to the allotments and the Crown and Horseshoes pub is unaccept- able.” The Downs Mail received several
letters of objection in the days before the meeting. Adam Hume wrote: “At the meeting [exhibition] I was astonished to see no green buffer zone/anti-coalescence strip, which will mean Langley as a village will (if passed) disappear to be swal- lowed up into Park Wood.” Rob Jarman, the council's head of planning, told councillors that they would not be “wedded” to the idea of having a school on the land, but added it would be difficult to refuse a planning application for homes given the shortfall in the local plan and the site's proximity to those al- ready with planning permission. The 11pm deadline arrived with-
out a solution. The item was de- ferred to the next meeting of the committee onAugust 18.
Classic fun at castle
LEEDS Castle was a sea of Union Jacks as thousands enjoyed the annual classical concert. A sunny afternoon
greeted swing from The Definitive Rat Pack and a programme from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by John Rigby. After demonstrations from a Spitfire and TV dancers James and Ola Jordan, who live in Kings Hill, the evening concluded with cannons and fireworks.
Objections to gypsy site plan
ABOUT 50 members of public attended a meeting opposing a large gypsy site near Staplehurst. The parish council objected to the planning application for 10 mobile homes, touring caravans and utility rooms on 0.8 hectares of grazing land at Folly Farm in Frittenden Road. Concerns included flooding and traffic safety on the A229 through the village. Maidstone Council, which will determine the application, has received more than a dozen objections on itswebsite.
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