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The Future of Maidstone Special supplement, October 2020


Four new garden villages?


CONSULTANTS hired by Maidstone Borough Council have assessed suitability and achievability of seven areas in the borough for garden villages and believe investigations could progress on just four – Lenham Heath, Leeds/Langley corridor, Lidsing (north of the M2) and north of Marden.


They say Marden and Lidsing are “suitable” and Lenham and Leeds/Langley are “suitable for fur- ther investigation”.


They are not recommending


three – Binbury Park at the top of Detling Hill; north of Staplehurst; and Pagehurst Farm, Staplehurst. The consultants (Stantec) explain the council’s intention is to select sites “to progress to further de- tailed appraisal to inform the next stage of the plan-making process”. At this stage, the council would as- sess technical evidence and gaps to be filled, deliverability (including viability) and the potential to fulfil garden community principles, par- ticularly design, sustainability and land value capture. They warn the council not to underestimate the challenges and degree of scrutiny, as there are ex- amples of Government inspectors halting Local Plan examinations be- cause evidence to support new communities was not robust. l LIDSING This is promoted by Hume Planning Consultancy on behalf of landowners F D Attwood & Partners, for up to 2,400 residen- tial units (including specialist ac- commodation), 20 hectares of employment land, social infras- tructure including a local centre, primary school and sports field on 124 hectares of land (comprising a number of fields) north of the M2. The consultants say: “The site would appear broadly suitable for development. The land proposed for housing or employment is free of significant policy restraints. The land is largely flat and a reasonably well contained area with trees on the edges and little visibility to housing on the east and west. There are 14 existing properties and one public house. The link road to the M2 (J4) would need to cross an Area of Outstanding Beauty and a new bridge would be required over the M2. Close working with Med- way Council would be needed.” l LENHAM HEATHLANDS This is promoted by Maidstone Council for around 4,000 dwellings and a


Seven sites were considered for garden villages – and four recommended for further progress


mix of uses, including employ- ment, community facilities and open space on 300 hectares of land. The council seeks to co-ordinate land ownership and promote de- velopment as master developer. The consultants say it is the largest of the seven garden village propos- als “and clearly qualifies as a po- tential standalone garden community in terms of scale – but more detail is needed on site selec- tion, the logic for it and how it will realistically work”.


A challenge They add there are currently 140


dwellings across the site, making deliverability a challenge. Added to this are historical farmsteads and feedback suggests the rural setting contributes to the significance of listed buildings. Chilston Park and Garden border the site and Lenham village conservation area will need to be considered and may limit the developable area. Collectively, the current assets may make develop- ment much more complex, but na- tional guidance is that positive public benefits may outweigh harm. Landscape evidence would


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not rule the site as unsuitable for development, but demonstrates some care will be needed in design and layout. The most challenging aspect of suitability is accessibility, say Stantec. Viability needs to be addressed in detail.


The consultants see the proposal


as challenging because, while the land would appear generally suit- able for development, free of major policy constraints and away from the Area of Outstanding Beauty, there are complexities to overcome and some harm is inevitable that needs outweighing by the public benefit.


They say: “The location is poten- tially suitable, however the pro- posal in its current form does not demonstrate achievability. Clarifi- cation of the transport proposals and their viability as well as how the site would work is required to confirm whether it is deliverable and viable.” They are not convinced the cur-


rent housing numbers will deliver a new M20 junction and a new high-speed railway station (not cur- rently supported by Highways England and the rail authorities).


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And provision of employment op- portunities need to be addressed. l LEEDS LANGLEY CORRIDOR The consultants looked at several closely-knit sites of a proposal for a garden community in the Leeds/Langley corridor stretching from near the A20/M20 (J8) up to the Five Went junction, Langley – a plan which could help fund a Leeds/Langley bypass.


The bypass Discussions with landowners


make clear a co-ordinated garden settlement will not progress before establishing greater certainty around delivery of the bypass. The challenges in this corridor in-


clude the high sensitivity towards Leeds Castle, Leeds Abbey and area with a considerable potential to cause harm. There are similar concerns around Langley Heath. They say there is not yet a single comprehensive approach and many questions about the relief road being delivered. “However, we think that, subject to considera- tion of the whole of South East Maidstone as a growth area and


Continued on page 3


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