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downsmail.co.uk Bale forWoodcut Farmlost...


ATTEMPTS to prevent a large industrial estate at junction eight of theM20were dealt a huge blow whenMaidstone Borough Council's planning committee passed a newscheme for the site.


Offices,warehouses and light in-


dustrial development at Woodcut Farmwere given outline approval. The committee voted 7-5 to allow


the Roxhill scheme, which differs slightly from the one rejected by the same committee last year. Placard-waving


protestors


demonstrated outside the town hall inMaidstone before themeeting on November 30. Two amendments to get the


scheme thrown out – by Denis Spooner (Con) and Eddie Powell (Ukip) – failed towin amajority. The recent intervention by the


Campaign to Protect Rural Eng- land (CPRE)with a threat of a judi- cial interventionwas not deemed to affect themeeting onNovember 30 as proceedings were not active. Should the action end up in the High Court,MBCwould defend it. Charles Blake, a director at Rox-


hill, said air quality impactswould be “negligible” and the develop- mentwould create 1,000 jobs. Borough councillor PatrikGarten


said that a Leeds-Langley bypass should be a “pre-condition” to the Woodcut Farmapplication. Hollingbourne Parish Council


spokesman Alan Bennett said he was astonished that road safety fears had been “dismissed so glibly” and asked: “When people are being scraped off the road in years to come,whowill tell the be- reaved?” Cllr John Perry said the concept


of "modal shift" - the council's idea to get cars off the roads by public transport provision and encour- agement to walk or cycle - cannot work at industrial units likeWood- cut Farm. He said: "They become large car


parks and I have seen enough evi- dence of that inmy buisiness career to reinforce that point." Cllr Valerie Springett said mem-


bers had to accept the proposal would go ahead and they should “look to the future”.


Demonstrators protest outside the town hall on November 30


MP Helen Whately said: “I will


continue to oppose industrialisa- tion of Woodcut Farm and will keep a close watch on the detailed planning application when it is submitted. I am just sorry that the voices of many residents in the parishes surrounding Woodcut Farm fell on deaf ears, but the bat- tle to protect this area is not yet over.” Cllr Gordon Newton said that


there is already an excess of office space all overMaidstone. He added: “Do we really need


more office space? We are already converting theminto flats." Ukip’s Eddie Powell said: “We


shouldn’t be allowing any applica- tion in aAONB (Area of Outstand- ing Natural Beauty) setting.” Bearsted councillor Denis


Spooner challenged the scheme urging refusal on the grounds it does not satisfy the need for the building to be in a “prestigious parkland setting”. Cllr Spooner said that the illus-


tration provided by the developers “iswhatwe are going to get and it’s basically wall-to-wall concrete sheds”.


Here’s how YOUR


councillors voted In favour of the Roxhill develop- ment at Woodcut Farm were: Cllrs Tony Harwood (Lib Dem), Bryan Vizzard (Lib Dem), Matt Boughton (Con), Steve Munford (Ind),Martin Cox (LibDem), Brian Clarke (LibDem) and Clive English (Lib Dem).


Against the development were: Cllrs Denis Spooner


(Con),


Paulina Stockell (Con), Shellina Prendergast (Con),Martin Round (Con) and Eddie Powell (Ukip).


...but thewar is notwon!


THE Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Kent will chal- lengeMaidstoneCouncil’s Local Plan in the High Court. It follows the local authority’s


decision to approve nearly 17 hectares of industrial develop- ment on farmland off the A20 at Bearsted, near theM20 junction serving Leeds Castle. CPRE Kent vice- Richard


chairman


Knox-Johnston says borough councillors weremisled into think- ing its letter asking for a delay on a decision on Roxhill Developments proposal for Woodcut Farm was merely a threat. He said: “Maidstone councillors


were given legal advice that our letter was only a threat and not a legal challenge in itself. “That advice was not correct


and we believe the council was misinformed. “As a resultwewill be proceed-


ingwith a legal challenge.” The CPRE had asked in a pre-


action protocol letter for the deci- sion to be deferred, stating its be- lief that the inclusion ofWoodcut Farm as a designated site for de- velopment in the Local Plan was unlawful. The letter was lodged through


its solicitorRichardBuxton, ahead of the planning com- mittee meeting on No- vember 30. Christine Drury,


chairman of CPRE Kent, said: “CPRE Kent will never give up on the countryside.” The CPRE move has


beenwelcomed by sup- porters including the


Joint Parishes Group, which has pointed out the inappropriate na- ture of the development. Cllr John Horne (pictured),


fromthe group, said: “This desig- nationalone exceeds the entire re- quirements of the borough for such development. At the very least, talks shouldhavebeenheld with neighbouring boroughs to seehowtheneeds of the local area could best bemet.”


MP joins universities in call formedical school for Kent


MPHelenWhately has joined a call for a medical school for Kent and Medway. The member for Faver-


sham and Mid Kent (pic- tured) organised a letter signed by 16 MPs sup- porting Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of Kent’s bid,whichwas submitted on November 23. The MPs wrote: “A


8 Maidstone January 2018


medical school would bring a host of benefits to our region. “Kent and Medway


NHS organisations are facing severe recruit- ment challenges and the region is also home to some significantly disad- vantaged communities, particularly along the coastline. “A localmedical school will help to address these


challenges, attracting newly quali- fied and senior doctors, and im- proving health outcomes for the population.” They claimed a shortage of doc-


tors in Kent has meant that acute services have had to be withdrawn fromsome hospitals and 530more GPs are needed in the region to bring it into line with the national average. MrsWhately said: “I organised a letter signed by 16 otherMPs to ex-


plain the serious recruitment diffi- culties NHS organisations in Kent have, and how much our area has to offermedical students. “We said that a medical school


would bring huge benefits to our region and improve local people’s health, particularly in some of our disadvantaged communities along the coastline – where life ex- pectancy for men is eight years lower than the rest of the coun- try.”


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