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Homes ‘outweigh impact on area’
PLANNING permission has been granted for 36 houses in Cripple Street, Loose after an appeal by Millwood Designer Homes was upheld by a government inspector. Maidstone Council only recently
agreed to include the site in its draft landscape of local value (LLV), forming part of the emerging local plan. The three ward members – Ian Chittenden, Brian Clark and Derek Mortimer – who had fought against development,were all disappointed to learn the appeal had been upheld. They had persuaded the council
to agree to include thewestern side of the Loose Valley and the two fields either side of Cripple Street – one of which is the appeal site – in the LLV. Previously, they had been outside the protected Loose Valley Conservation Area. Cllr Chittenden said: “As the ini-
tial planning application had been submitted prior to the site’s inclu- sion in the LLV plan, the inspector did not include the LLV plan in his review. Sadly, the inspector consid- ered the harm to the LooseValley to be insufficient to dismiss the ap- peal.”
Inspector Tim Wood said: “The
draft local plan acknowledges that Maidstone cannot accommodate all of its required growth on existing urban sites so the change in local character such as this is something that seems inevitable. “The proposed form and layout of
the development includes generous degrees of spaciousness and it would not appear out of place be- tween the existing housing to the east and the lower density houses to thewest.” Heaccepted that the development
will impact adversely on the grade II listed 19th century Bockinford Farmhouse, but not significantly, and did not believe it will impact on the existing conservation area. Hesaid: “I have identified a small
degree of harm to its setting arising from the development of the appeal site.However, I consider that this is outweighed by the public benefit of the provision of additional homes.” The development will consist of terraced, semi-detached and de- tached houses, including some af- fordable housing, and part of Cripple Street will be realigned as part of the building scheme.
Councillor stands down
FORMER Maidstone Council cabinet member Cllr John Wil- son is standing down from the council when he completes eight years' service in May 2016. Cllr Wilson
(68) of Lower Road, East Far- leigh, repre- sents Coxheath and Hunton Ward for the Conservatives.
He said he was concerned about the speed and efficiency of the council now it had reverted from
from cabinet to committee deci- sion-making. Hehas also retired as chairman
of Maidstone and the Weald ConservativeAssociation after al- most three years which included the formation of a West Kent Conservative office serving five constituencies. He took over from former councillor and cabinet member Cllr Brian Moss, who has been elected to resume as chairman. Cllr Wilson said: “I will con-
tinue with my other public of- fices, but now hope to enjoy more time with my family.”
Call for lorry parks
KENT County Council leader Paul Carter has called on the Govern- ment to create a network of national lorry parks to prevent residents being blighted byHGVs which park up overnight. In an angry outburst at the Maid-
stone Joint Transportation Board, the county council leader called on Highways England to spend some of the levy it receives from foreign lorry companies to provide parking facilities for the trucks. Residents in Sandling have been blighted by HGV drivers parking overnight in a layby on Old
Chatham Road, leaving litter and human waste in verges and gar- dens.
Committee chairman David Bur-
ton said villagers in Marden experi- enced similar problems. Foreign hauliers have been charged to useUKroads since April 2014. Cllr Carter said: “It is time the treasury spent some of the money it charges foreign lorries to use on our roads.
“These drivers have nowhere else
to go when their tachograph runs out and police will not take enforce- ment action.”
Maidstone Town December 2015 21
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