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News Clamour to rethink local plan
MAIDSTONE Council has been given a clear mandate to look again at its controversial local plan. More than 300 people, mostly
from rural parishes, attended a public meeting called by the town’s two MPs to discuss the borough’s fate over the next 15 years. Many residents voiced their dis- pleasure at the council earmarking housing sites in the south and south east to help meet the borough tar- get of 18,560 new homes between 2011 and 2031 Speakers from Otham, Headcorn
and Coxheath were among the many who claim infrastructure is already at breaking point and traf- fic flows unmanageable. There were accusations that the council was failing to listen to residents’ views. However, head of planning Rob Jarman said there had been four public consultations since the process began in 2011.” Cllr Marion Ring (pictured) was
a lone voice who spoke up for the urban area, beg- ging people to think about the high numbers of homeless people and about future generations who would need af- fordable housing.
She said therewere 462 homeless families in the borough and the numberwas increasing all the time. She asked: “Where will our grand- children live? As responsible peo- ple,we need to start putting things in perspective. This is not for us, but for the future generations.” Although Helen Whately,MPfor
Mid Kent and Faversham, accepted therewas a need for more housing, she questioned the sense of putting it in rural areas with already creak- ing infrastructure. The 11-strong panel, chaired by
radio presenter John Warnett, in- cluded analytics expert Dr Rebecca Driver, who has been instrumental in drawing up Headcorn’s neigh- bourhood plan. She argued the figures were an assessment, not a projection and was critical of the council adding 1,000 to the consultants’ figures to improve housing affordability. She said: “There is no evidence that in- creasing the number of houses will improve their affordability.” Chris Dobson, who said he was
from the “soon-to-be-destroyed vil- lage of Otham” said the traffic gen- erated by proposed developments in Otham would cause gridlock while Headcorn resident John Marsh said he and his wife already avoided driving into Maidstone be- cause of the traffic congestion. He said: “People will find it im- possible to get into town and the economy will decline – and that will be Maidstone Council’s fault.” KCC remains at loggerheads
with the borough over its inte- grated transport strategy, claiming the latest report focuses unrealisti- cally on cycling andwalking, when only 0.8% of the public actually uses these forms of transport to get to work. With limited and unreliable pub-
lic transport, this figure was un- likely to suddenly escalate and the
increase in housing would see up to 50,000 more cars on the road. Council leader Fran Wilson said members had listened to many hours of debate and representations from the public to reach this point. She said: “We live in a very diffi-
cult planning world.We can argue about what we would like to have – but it is notwhatwe have.We are being developer led. We have to stop and take control of our own destiny.” “It is not right to say we have
acted blithely. I wish the figures were not as they are, but I fear they are. I truly believewe are stuck.” By not getting a local plan in
place, the council would find itself in a far worse situation, she said. Panellist Matthew Balfour, KCC cabinet member for environment and transport, saidKCCwas a con- sultee in the process, in the same way individual residents were, but stressed the housing numberswere only a target and constraints, such as lack of facilities and infrastruc- ture, could be applied to bring the figure down. KCC has suggested Maidstone reviews its figures in 2020 in the light of this. Paul Carter, leader of KCC, has
warned Maidstone could face a public inquiry if it did not bow to public pressure.
Review of figure is agreed
OF the 55 councillors who voted in January to put the draft local plan out to Regulation 19 public consultation, 13 voted against. Four others were absent. One of them, Cllr Gordon Newton from Otham, proposed a mo-
tion at the end of the public meeting, held at the Maidstone Stu- dios, calling on the council to look yet again at the housing numbers. Itwas carried almost unanimously, with only a handful of dissenters.
‘Vanity project’ DR Felicity Simpson, from Thurn- ham, a long-time campaigner for CPRE Kent and key player in the fight against the Kent Interna- tional Gateway proposal, was one of several people to op- pose the inclu- sion of Woodcut
Farm as a site for future economic development, describing it as the council’s “vanity project”. KCC Cllr JennyWhittle said it was
a farce that the council had just fought a planning application against the Waterside Park devel- opment near M20 Junction 8, yet was proposing in its draft local plan a similar development on land close by.
Call for bypass COUNCILLOR Annabelle Black- more called on KCC to work with the two MPs to secure the neces- sary funding for a Leeds-Langley bypass. She said: “Let’s stop being nega-
tive and plan something positive.” County council leader Paul Carter
said: “Ifwe can find£55mfromthe Government and parishes, we might be able to do it in the next five to 10 years.” Keith Cook, director of Ecobuild
UK, said his company had been try- ing for two years to open a dia- logue with the council on a housing project on low-grade agricultural land, which would help fund a relief road in Leeds-Langley and begged: “Perhaps someone can contact me?”
A new look for The Mall Choir’s family occasion
WORK on Maidstone’s new-look Mall is now more than half way through. The £5m programme to modernise and refurbish the shopping cen-
tre began in June last year, the most obvious sign being the shiny new en- trance on King Street, sporting the definitive Mall brand. The Gabriel’s Hill entrance is due to be revamped in the spring. Internal pilasters have
been removed to give a more open-plan and un- cluttered appearance and work is ongoing on new flooring and lighting. Built in 1976, the Mall began life as the Stoneborough Centre, and
was rebranded as The Chequers Centre in the early 1990s. It is now part of Capital and Regionals’ six-strong Mall portfolio.
MAIDSTONEChoral Union will be celebrating Easter with a perform- ance of Stainer’s Crucifixion in All Saints’ Church – with a member of his family taking part. This well-loved standard was written by John Stainer in 1887. His great-grandson Mike Newsom, from Sittingbourne, is a member of Maidstone Choral Union. Mike’s cousin, David Pennant, is
also a great-grandson of Stainer and a musician in the South East. David thought the story didn’t
end with the crucifixion so two years ago he wrote The Resurrec- tion.
Maidstone Choral Union will fol-
low their March 12 performance of the Crucifixion with The Resurrec-
tion – its first public performance. MCU’s Graham Hall said: “Stainer’s work is moving and solemn whilst David Pennant’s work is joyful and engaging, with echoes of calypso, show tunes and a real sense of musical theatre. “The audience gets a chance to
join in We Shall Overcome and Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Coming of the Lord, with which the work ends.” The choir will be conducted by Martin Hindmarsh and the evening commences at 7.30pm. Tickets are £12 on the door or from the ticket secretary on 01622 726193 or email:
freda@me169lb.fsnet.co.uk and from Maidstone Museum Vis- itors’ Centre 01622 602169.
Maidstone Town March 2016 47
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