News


Residential home praised


at inspection A RESIDENTIAL home providing a home-from-home for disabled in- dividuals has been praised by a Government inspector. Sapphire House earned a good


grade across the board,with the in- spector adding that the facilitypro- vided person-centred care, while allowing residentsmaximumcon- trol of their lives. The detached property on the


Tonbridge Road,Maidstone, is di- vided into flats, with communal areas, for up to seven people with learning disabilities, autistic spec- trum disorder, mental health con- ditions and complex needs. The report added: “Caring staff


support theminthe least restrictive way possible, backed by policies and systems in the service that supports this practice.” The inspector concluded that


residents had access to the health- care they neededafter having been assessed, prior tomoving in to the house, where they received per- sonalised care. The report added: “There were


good systems in place to protect people from abuse and avoidable harmand enough suitably trained staff tomeet people’s needs. “Residents were supported by


staffwho respected themand pro- moted their independence. Peo- ple’s communication needs were met and people were encouraged to be involved with their day-to- day support.” Staff protected people’s privacy


and helped them keep in contact with their familieswho could visit whenever theywanted, the inspec- tor said.


downsmail.co.uk


Call for sites brings fears of ‘garden city’


A CALL for sites to be included in the reviewof the Local Plan has in- cluded a request for "garden city" developments.


Themove has sparked fears that


Otham Valley might be targeted for amassive 5,000-home scheme. One observer claimedthatMaid-


stoneBoroughCouncil (MBC)may be looking to reach the targetwith “a few big projects”, one of which might be the resurrection of the Golding Homes plan for thou- sands of affordable homes in Otham. TheMBC callwent out to attract


potential schemes to satisfy an 8,000-home demand by central government over and above the 17,600 units passed in the Local Plan. One planwhichmay be submit-


ted is a 900-plus scheme for an eco village called Broomfield Park, near Kingswood, which backers claim could generate millions of pounds of revenues towards a re- lief road. County councillor Gary Cooke,


whosepatch coversOtham, said: “I just hope that they are not plan- ning to resurrect the earlier Gold- ingHomes proposals frombefore. “The council may be looking to


get to the target with a few large ones than loads of smaller devel- opments. “But Maidstone south east has


takenmore thanits fair share of ad- ditional housing and we are cur- rently suffering the consequences of what’s already gone in with in- creased traffic and air pollution.”


Other sites which may come up


as applications are a 2,000-home site near Marden, which villagers bitterly oppose, and a largemixed used development at Detling as well as speculative A20 develop- ments near Lenham or Harriet- sham. According to a statement, MBC


is “asking landowners, developers and interested parties to propose sites for all types of development in the borough. This is to give the council a starting list of sites, from which it can select the best tomeet its future development needs”. It adds: “Innovative approaches


may be required, such as planning brand new settlements or neigh- bourhoods following ‘garden city’ principles andMBChaveprepared an information pack including a


dedicatedNewGardenCommuni- ties Prospectus as guidance for thosewho areplanning to submit a site.” Rob Schroeder, who is behind


Broomfield Park, said his project could contribute millions towards a relief road for south east Maid- stone. Mr Schroeder, pictured on left


with business partner Keith Cook, added: “It seems daft the council sent through the Local Plan with- out planning to build any new roads. This will probably be the last chance of a relief road or a by- pass of some kind.We can help to finance it.” For sites to be considered as part


of the current exercise, they will need to be submitted by 5pm on Friday,May 24.


Community space givesway to homes in newplan


THEnumber ofhouses at Springfield Library site beside theRiverMedway in Maidstone could be increased – with the loss of a community space. Developer PekerHoldings has sub-


mitted amended plans to up the number of homes to 170 at the plot in Sandling Road, Maidstone, most of which would be in a 15-storey building. The revision sees plans for


429sqm of community space re- placedwith eightmore homes. Peker Holdings would provide


10% affordable housing, short of Maidstone Borough Council’s Local Plan recommendation of 30%. Two of the buildings will be re-


18 Maidstone April 2019


ducedinheight.Developmentof the library site was granted in 2009 but owner,KentCountyCouncil, sold the land to PekerHoldings for just under £3m. Resident Julie Doughty, Edna Road, said: “This area is swamped by


AnMBCspokesman said: “Officers


An artist’s impression shows the reduction in height on two of the buildings


flatswith not enough parking. “I have attached an earlier objec-


tion to this site showing that the council's own survey for the Local Plan stated that most households would have two cars per family. Modal shift is not a certainty.”


wrote a planning committee report recommending refusal which was presented on November 8, 2018, outlining primary considerations over the design quality and the pro- vision of social and physical infra- structure that a development of this scalewould generate the need for. “However, councillors deferred the


discussion of the application and, therefore, no decision has been made. Itwill be reported back to the planning committee in due course.” See the amended planning appli-


cation visit Maidstone Borough Council's planning portal, using the reference 17/504568.


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