News | Housing


downsmail.co.uk Plan brings relief road hope


A LEEDS-Langley relief road is deliverable if there is a large-scale housing development, Kent County Council (KCC) has indicated.


And the highways authority, whose co-operation is vital, ap- pears to be prepared to explore models for paying for it. KCC highways chief Michael


Payne in a letter to Maidstone Bor- ough Council (MBC) management said development-led funding would be quicker but he could seek Government part-funding if necessary.


MBC has identified Leeds/Lang-


ley as an area for development in its Call For Sites exercise, and there are fears it is unlikely to be in- cluded in its Local Plan review as it has not been developed by the landowners. The issue of a relief road has


‘Village threat’


to turtle doves OPPONENTS to a “garden village” development of 2,000 houses at Marden have called on a wildlife charity to protect one of the coun- try’s most endangered birds. The turtle dove is now on the


Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ red list of species under threat with just 14,000 breeding ter- ritories left for the summer migrant. The charity has been in Marden


to count breeding pairs and is being supported by Marden Planning Opposition. chairman Claudine Russell said: “Given how much ev- eryone has been enjoying the coun- tryside and wildlife since we have been in lockdown, is a vast housing estate badged as a garden village worth the potential loss of turtle doves in the area?”


come into sharp focus once again after the B2163 was shut to repair a water leak, causing havoc on the back roads. Articulated lorries drive illegally through the village unchallenged by police, and traffic volumes have increased as houses have been built on the A274 Sutton Road. In a letter to leader of MBC Cllr Martin Cox, dated October 1 and passed to Downs Mail, Cllr Payne wrote: “We are happy to work with the relevant developers pro- vided they are prepared to collab- orate with each other and ourselves to identify the cumula- tive impact and mitigation of their proposals and apportion contribu-


tions appropriately. I suspect a consortium would be necessary, together with an equalisation agreement or some such similar ar- rangement.”


Local borough councillors, in- cluding Gill Fort, Daniel Rose and Wendy Young, recently wrote to Cllr Cox to seek assurances that KCC supports the relief road. Local county councillor Gary


Cooke said: “I welcome Michael's letter to MBC and it follows valu- able work carried out by KCC which clearly demonstrates a pos- itive cost/benefit ration for new in- frastructure.


“Now MBC must do its bit to make it happen.”


MP in housing talks


MP HELEN Whately has held talks with the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, about the Government’s proposed changes to the planning system. They met on October 1, when


Mrs Whately raised concerns from constituents and local councillors about the number of new houses being built in Kent. The Government has started to


overhaul the “outdated” planning system and reform the way the country builds. It aims to speed up the planning process and cut red tape, but critics says it will be a dis- aster for communities and public accountability. Mrs Whately, a vocal critic of the


proposals for 4,000 houses at Lenham Heath, says housing must not harm the countryside, and


numbers must be kept manage- able.


She said: “There is a balance that


needs to be struck. We must not allow Kent to be concreted over.” Mr Jenrick said in future planning decision will be “simple and trans- parent”.


Borough Cllr Wendy Young Fighting fund


for church site MORE than 2,000 people have signed the petition fighting the plan for more than 400 homes next to the ancient church in Church Road, Otham – and now or- ganisers are appealing for fighting funds. Expert witnesses on her-


itage, air quality, land stabil- ity and more must be engaged for next month’s public inquiry, at an esti- mated cost of £5,000. The fight is being led by


the Campaign to Protect Rural England (Kent), to whom donations can be made. They can be gift aided (adding 25%).


The award­winning Downs Mail newspaper is delivered fortnightly door­to­door in selected areas, and is available to pick up from major supermarkets and local stores in the Maidstone and Malling boroughs. The papers are free to read online, as is the Daily Downs Mail news service. Find them at www.downsmail.co.uk.


We can post the newspaper to you for an annual subscription of £25 for 24 editions. For details, email info@downsmail.co.uk or call a member of the team on 01622 630330.


Editorial Editor Simon Finlay simon.finlay@downsmail.co.uk Editorial team: Online news editor Jade Schopman jade.schopman@downsmail.co.uk Chris Lawson chris.lawson@downsmail.co.uk Lindsay Roberts lindsay.roberts@downsmail.co.uk Obituaries Neil Nixon neilnixon22@gmail.com


4


Sales Natasha Bastone natasha.bastone@downsmail.co.uk Accounts: accounts@downsmail.co.uk Mail Publications Ltd Forge House Bearsted Green Business Park Bearsted, Maidstone ME14 4DT Call us: 01622 630330


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  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56