News | Sponsored parish council Boxley ParishMail


CHAIRMAN: Bob Hinder CLERK: Daniela Baylis ASST CLERK:Melanie Fooks ParishOffice, BeechenHall,Wildfell Close,Walderslade,ME5 9RU


Tel: 01634 861237 email: clerk@boxleyparishcouncil.org.uk Website: www.boxleyparishcouncil.org.uk Contact details for parish councillors can be obtained fromthe parish office, the Useful Contact Details leaflet or the website Homes plan


A PLANNING application has been made for 115 houses on 4.28 hectares of countryside andancient woodland east ofGleamingWood Drive in Lordswood (reference 19/504442/FULL). This application is a re-submis-


sion of an application refused by the planning committee last year. The schemewas grantedpermis-


sion on appeal by the Planning In- spectorate. A subsequent application for 115 houseswas also refused leaving a “reserved mat- ters scheme” for 89 dwellingswith consent. This approval established the


principle of an access roadthrough the ancient woodland as well as development on the site. Vehicle accesswill be via a junc-


tion onto Gleaming Wood Drive. Footpaths will be extended across the site frontage along Gleaming WoodDrive to the bus stop.


Care appeal


AN APPEAL has been submitted for a large carehome at the junction of New Cut Road and Bearsted Road, Weavering (reference 18/503492/OUT). Thisdevelopmentwas refusedby


the council on height, scale and its cramped proportions. The three-storey development is


onagreenfieldsitewithaccessonto BearstedRoad.Astreamon the site feeds into the pond in the Vinters ValleyNature Reserve. Any devel- opment on the site could affect this water supply, says Boxley Parish Council.


Speed review


THE parish council has been asked to look into getting the speed limit reduced again at Walderslade Woods. This follows a serious accident on


September 6, the second in 2019. The parish council will look into


crash data for the road.Most coun- cillor agreed that enforcement of anychangewouldbekeytomaking itwork. Chairman Cllr BobHinder invited members to send him all suggestions for improvement.


22 Maidstone East October 2019


Traffic report reveals increasing problems


AMAJOR report by Boxley and Bearsted parish councils about the im- pact house-building is having on our roads lays bare some startling facts. The nine-page study reinforces


suggestions for tactical “quick wins” and strategic long term so- lutions – such as the Leeds-Lang- ley relief road – as Maidstone Borough Council’s Local Plan starts to bite. The report was compiled by the


Boxley and Bearsted Parish Coun- cil Joint TrafficWorking Group in response to traffic issues in the area, which are expected to get “significantlyworse”with newde- velopments. The ambitious document,which


went before Boxley ParishCouncil on September 2 and is available fromthe parish office, details how 1,200 homes south of the M20 J7 are either built,under construction or givenpermission. Further appli- cations are pending. Further pressure on the roads


will come froma newscience and technology school, a primary and special needs school on the Kent Medical Campus (KMC) site which will bring a total of 2,000


pupils and staff. A 1,600-home proposal for


Detling Hill is bound to have an impact on the Boxley and Bearsted parishes, the report suggests. The combined effect of these de-


velopments could result in 8,000 additional vehicle journeys “on roads that are already congested”. The report highlights concerns


that planned changes to the A249 BearstedRoadfromNotcutts to the KMC roundabout will not be able to copewith the extramovements. Traffic is already looking for


available ratruns between theA20 andWare Street, which is already a single track in places, due to res- idents’ car parking. The impact on air qualitywill be


detrimental, according to the re- port’s authors. Chairman Bob Hinder thanked


the report’s authors for the “time and effort” thatwent into its com- pilation. Once officially approved by both parishes, it will be sent to the Joint Transportation Board


Possible solutions


The working group’s report sug- gests “quickwins” including:  Restrict the use of ratruns be- tweentheA20andWareStreet, in- cluding speed bumps, weight restrictions, and speed cameras;  Traffic lights or a mini round- aboutat the junctionof Spot Lane and Roseacre Lane and theA20;  Place a moratorium on further developments in the area until a comprehensive infrastructure plan is completed and implemented. Strategic longer-termsolutions:  Enhance junction 8 of theM20 to encourage the default route for north and west bound traffic on theA20tobe totheM20. Atpres- ent the default route is to remain on theA20; Build the eastern/Leeds-Langley by-pass. Until this is built, all other proposalsare largelydamage limi- tation for a situation that has al- ready become untenable.


Sixth year on


allotments THE Dove Hill allotment site is now into its sixth year, and the plots are looking lovely, with bumper harvests. The next project is to level off


thewater troughs by raising them onto concrete slabs. This will be done in October by


a working party of plot holders. There will be a competition to


judge the plots, the results of which will be announced next May.


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