News Protest at new homes plan
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-
man of 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 Langley Park 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 it was considered an unacceptable “encroachment of the
urban area”, given that about 2,000 homes in the Sutton Road corridor had recently been built or given planning permission. Cllr Paulina Stockell, a member of
the committee, said: “I am ab- solutely staggered. It gets worse and worse.We now hear there is going to be a school, when there is already going to be a school at the Langley Park development 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 Sutton Valence. For this development to go all theway to the allotments and the Crown and Horseshoes pub is unacceptable.” The Downs Mail received several
letters of objection in the days before the
meeting.AdamHumewrote: “At the meeting [exhibition] Iwas aston- ished 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.
Christmas lights switch-on
THE Christmas lights will be switched on in Maidstone’s Fremlin Walk on November 19. As in previous years, the organiser is hop- ing to attract a celebrity to perform the switch-on. Maidstone Town Centre Management will be looking to com- plement the event with entertainment from the likes of school choirs and the Salvation Army band. Efforts are also being made to co-ordinate late-night shopping op- portunities, possibly for two weeks in the run-up to Christmas. Approaches will also be made to Maidstone Council about park- ing concessions.
Rotary honour
forWilliam THE first duty of incoming presi- dent of the Rotary Club of Maid- stone, David Hackett,was to award outgoing president William Perry the club’s highest honour, a Paul Harris Fellowship. This marked his “tremendous amount of time and effort during the year” and also his career as a “headmaster of standing,” which started when he became Kent’s youngest head at the age of 28. A resident of Hollingbourne, he
served as chairman of Holling- bourne and Leeds Parochial Church Council; was a churchwar- den; a member of the Prison Parole Board (young offenders); and sup- ported Mencap Cobtree pre-school.
downsmail.co.uk
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Maidstone Town September 2015
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