News | Lenhamhomes
Council hunts for the secretmeeting ‘mole’
THE leader of Maidstone Borough Council has been urged to “come clean” about a 2,500-5,000 housing development at LenhamHeath. The call comes as the authority
was accused of secrecy and suberfuge. Liberal Democrat Cllr Martin
Cox ordered the details of the scheme to be heard in closed ses- sion of the policy and resources committee ofMay 22 for legal rea- sons. The secret session came two
days before the deadline for the “call for sites”,which sought land for about 8,000more houses in the borough, on top of 17,600 in the Local Plan adopted in late 2017. Tory opposition leaderCllr John
Perry said: “There is deep concern amongst residents … and their anxieties are seriously heightened, however, by the culture of secrecy and subterfuge in this Liberal De- mocrat-led council. We need proper transparency for the entire
process, so that residents can un- derstand what is being proposed, local councillors can be engaged early, and sufficient time allowed for debate. “There has been a significant
amount of alarm since people be- came aware of the secret session of the P&R committee on May 22. MBC should stop trying to keep the contents of thatmeeting secret, stop its efforts at intimidation over supposed ‘leaks’, and instead publish a full account for every- one to read. Without trans- parency, residentswill rightly ask: ‘What are they trying to hide?’” Downs Mail disclosed the
Lenham Heath scheme and some information relating to theMay 22 meeting. The council’s head of legal af- fairs, Patricia Narebor, has now
launched an internal investigation over alleged leaks andwill be call- ing more than 20 staff and mem- bers in to give an account of their actions. In a letter, Cllr Perry urged Cllr
Cox to “come clean” about the LenhamHeath proposal. The scheme could entail a new
secondary school and small hos- pital, and help inform the argu- ments for a new M20 junction serving both Ashford and the Maidstone borough. Cllr Cox said the May 22 meet-
ing was held in closed session on legal advice, adding MBC must act in a “business-like fashion” in a call for sites process. The proper time tomake details
public and to discuss the details of it would be at the consultation stage, he added.
Mixed feelings on 5,000 homes
THEREwere a range of views about the proposal to build up to 5,000 houses at LenhamHeath. Owner of The Upcycled Trading
Company, Claire Rickner (46) said: “There’s a desperate need for hous- ing in the UK and I think Lenhamis just as valid as anywhere else to get some. “It could be a good thing if done
sensibly, and as long as there are schools, doctors and so
on.The900- home eco-village inKingswood is an interesting idea I agree with, being eco-friendly solutions. It just has to be done in a sensible and well thought-outway.” Jan Mool (70), of West Wood
Lodge, said: “I am against it. There isn’t any infrastructure and the roads are already so congested. “Nomatter what we say they will
stillgoaheadanddo it.Harrietsham and Lenham will just be one big town. It’s gettingworse all the time. We are losing the essence ofwhat a village is and our voice is not going tobeheard,whateverwe tryanddo. “Who are these homes for? It
seems it’s all been decided behind closed doors, but they certainly haven’t asked the residents howwe feel about it.”
8 Maidstone East July 2019
downsmail.co.uk Legal chief in
probe launch THE letter fromMBC’s head of legal PatriciaNarebor said an investigation will be un- dertaken “regarding the re- lease of exempt information to the Downs Mail that was provided to members and discussed at the committee. “The article in the Downs
Mail onMay 24 makes refer- ence to housing in Lenham that was discussed at the committee. The investigation will involve members of P&R, visiting members and officers. “As such, itwas in the pub-
lic interest not to release the information at that stage. Confirmation was provided that the information would be released to the public at the formal stage.”
consultation
Silent Sams LENHAM borough council- lor Tom Sams has refused to comment about the proposed building of up to 5,000 homes on his patch. The independent borough
member told Downs Mail: “You’ve asked me for a com- ment and I don’twant to give you a comment, so let’s leave it there, shall we? There’s a lot going on at themoment.” Cllr Sams and fellow
Lenham councillor Janetta Sams are independents whose votes the Liberal De- mocrat
leadership relied
upon to form its administra- tion inMay.
Manager of Lenham Village
Store, Jackie Haywood, said: “There would be toomany houses. The sur- geries suffer with the amount of people they have to treat now– you can’tgetanappointment forweeks. I think the idea is to merge in with Harrietsham and become one big town. About 90%of our customers are regulars, but thatwon’t happen anymorewiththeadditionalhouses. The community spirit is dwindling.” Raymond Rickner (78), of High
Street said: “Lenhamwon’t be a vil- lage anymore. It’s nice theway it is now.” Reporting: Jade Schopman
Lenhamtraders Claire Rickner and, below, Jackie Haywood
Council plan A DRAFT statement seen by Downs Mail outlining the council’s position but with- out naming Lenham says: “The ‘Call for Sites’ exercise is part of the review of the Maidstone Borough Local Plan and is a statutory re- quirement for the council. “At this stage, the council
has been requesting informa- tion about land thatmay have development potential. ”This ‘Call for Sites’ exer-
cise includes a prospectus for ‘garden communities’. “We can confirmthatMaid-
stone Borough Council itself intends to put forward a pro- posal.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
