News
Local plan ‘is a step closer’
MAIDSTONE’S local plan has moved a step closer to reality. Councillors have decided that the
latest draft should go out for the final public consultation, known as Section 19. Following this phase of consulta-
tion, the plan would go back to Maidstone Council in April and then on to theGovernment’s planning in- spectorate for approval. If approved, it would come into
force in early 2017, giving the coun- cil greater powers to defend itself against planning applications for sites deemed unsuitable. Head of planning Rob Jarman
said:“We have undertaken site visits for every single site for housing, em- ployment and retail development. The plan will enable us to direct growth to those areas where it is most appropriate.” Despite challenges to the “objec-
tively assessed housing need”, Maidstone has set a target of 18,560 new homes between 2011 and 2031. Mr Jarman told the policy and re- sources committee: “We believe the borough can consume this.”
He accepted there were “some residual issues” with the local plan drawn up in 2014, chiefly concern- ing the rural settlement hierarchy – including whether or not Coxheath should remain a larger village or be- come a rural service centre which could increase the number of homes it takes. Former council leader Cllr Chris Garland (pictured) said he believed the latest draft to be “sound in its current format” and ready to go through to S19 consultation. He said: “It is
completely wrong to talk about the ‘concreting over of Maidstone.’ Only 0.6% of land in the borough will be developed in the next 20 years. “Any attempts to use anecdotes, hyperbole and emotion will not be accepted by an inspector.” Cllr John Perry maintained the
plan was “seriously flawed” but council leader Cllr FranWilson said: “An imperfect local plan is far, far better than no local plan.”
downsmail.co.uk Age UK set for cut
Continued from page one However, it is clear that there
will be no funding to continue AgeUK’s befriending service that was started in West Kent with Maidstone Mind after July 2016. MrColes said: “This attracted a couple of hundred volunteers to befriend or accompany elderly people and those with mental health issues in their home or on day trips. Unfortunately, the suc- cess of this pilot is not the issue here, but the county council’s re- sources to continue funding it.” Hesaid effortswere continuing
to fund the project from outside sources. Mr Coles added: “Age UKfills a large number of gaps in the service provision for the eld- erly inWest Kent and these talks will need to look at what KCC
wants and whatwe can offer. “If there is no flexibility in the budgetwewill notbe able topro- vide the same level of service.” He said the organisation was
being forced to absorb the cost of setting up staff pensions and the implications of the livingwage. KCC part funds voluntary groups to help in areas such as adult social care services, which has a £9.5m
budget.Aspokesman said:“Duetowell-publicised cuts to local authority budgets, we have had to look again at how much we fund voluntary organi- sations and as a result have writ- ten to all 98, including Age UK. “We have asked if they could reduce the amount of funding they require, and many have agreed to do this.”
Council tax facing bigger hike
THE cost of caring for elderly and vulnerable adults in Kent means ratepayers will have a4%increase in theirKCC council tax bill fromApril. KCC is taking advantage of new legislation allowing it to increase council tax by 2% to meet the costs of funding this sector. That’s in addition to the 1.99% general increase already proposed to help meet the costs of other services,
such as education, social services and highways. The extra 2% will raise about
£11m, but the county council spent almost £350m on adult social care last year and says it needs a further £42m this year to keep social care at its current levels. The average bill for a Band D property will rise from £1,089.99 to £1,133.55 from April.
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