News | Planning
downsmail.co.uk Focus on improving town centre
A LONGER-term vision to improve the centre of Maidstone is to be developed in a plan aimed at increasing investment/employment and improving retail and leisure services over 30 years.
The council must consider the county town for options, other- wise other urban and rural areas will feel a greater emphasis in achieving targets.
The key proposals include:
l retaining the best environmen- tal features such as an enhanced riverside with more active multi- functional urban spaces; l providing a variety of well- integrated attractions for all ages including new shopping, busi- nesses, leisure, tourism and cul- tural facilities; l improved access to the centre for all – tackling congestion and air quality through improve- ments in provision for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, includ- ing public transport; and l new high-quality community, health and education infrastruc- ture;
The town centre has the highest existing sustainability advantages for all growth locations in the bor- ough.
Reporters: Dennis Fowle & Simon Finlay
‘Key needs’ identified
THE council has looked at key in- frastructure needs of urban areas and identifies them as: ROADS – highways and transport infrastructure. Including junction improvements, improvements to part of Bearsted Road, improved pedestrian/cycle access and bus prioritisation measures. SCHOOLS – additional secondary school capacity including one- form entry expansion of Maid- stone Grammar and Maplesden Noakes. Extra primary provision through one-form entry expan- sion of South Borough Primary. OPEN SPACE – provision of more publicly accessible spaces. HEALTH – Extensions/improve- ments of Brewer Street Surgery, Bower Mount Medical Centre, The Vine Medical Centre, new Grove Green medical centre, Bearsted Medical Practice and Boughton Lane Surgery.
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The vision for Len House with its outdoor eating and a riverside walkway
The council says: “Not devel- oping in the town centre would place greater emphasis on the re- maining urban as well as rural areas.
“It should be noted there is not sufficient capacity in this area alone for it to comprehensively
service all the borough’s needs.” One aim is to consolidate Maid- stone’s position as the County Town of Kent. Development should “demon- strate a quality of design re- sponding positively to the townscape including ensuring
the conservation and enhance- ment of the town centre’s historic fabric”.
In addition, sites next to the
Rivers Len and Medway should respond to their setting with long and short range views and public access should be enhanced.
Rural service centres escape ...
RURAL service centres escape heavy growth. Maidstone Borough Council ear- marked in the Local Plan 2017 five larger villages with good facili- ties/services as rural service centres for substantial growth.
They are: Lenham, Harrietsham, Headcorn, Staplehust and Marden. Many land offers close to these villages were made in the council’s 2019 call for sites but few have met with council approval at this stage. LENHAM was allocated in 2017
1,000 dwellings for post April 2021. Now the council says: “At the cur-
rent time it was not considered rea- sonable to add to the 1,000. This is in part due to the risk of market saturation in the local area.” HARRIETSHAM has been allo- cated two new sites – Marley Road (40 houses) and another nearby (60), close to the rail line in the east of the village near residential areas. HEADCORN was allocated in 2017 four sites for development across the north of the village, and one new site in Mote Road (127) is included to the west of these four. MARDEN was allocated five sites for 237 new houses in 2017.
Now two adjoining sites – north of Copper Lane (74) and east of Al- bion Road (39) – are proposed for the south east of the village but the parish council is opposing these. But the garden village proposed for 2,000 houses north of Marden is currently not favoured by the bor- ough council. STAPLEHURST, the largest of the rural service centres, was allo- cated 837 houses on three sites in 2017. Now two smaller sites – east of Lodge Road (78) and Home Farm (49) – are added, both ad- joining the two larger 2017 sites.
... but larger villages set to grow
THE council also allocated in 2017 five larger villages – Boughton Monchelsea, Coxheath, Eyhorne Street (Hollingbourne), Sutton Valence and Yalding. But it agreed development would be less than in rural service centres as they are “comparatively less sustainable locations.” BOUGHTON MONCHELSEA
was allocated four sites in 2017. Now two more are added, next to White Cottage (18 homes) and Campfield Farm (24).
COXHEATH was allocated five
sites in 2017 for 295 houses. Now another is added at Stockett Lane/Forstal Lane (30). The Cox- heath plan shows three more new sites but these all fall in the parish of East Farleigh, near the junction of Dean Street/Heath Road (20), Dingley Dell, Heath Road (17) and Heath Road/Gallants Lane (33). EYHORNE STREET was allo- cated 26 houses on three sites in 2017. Now another site (11) is allo- cated next to the smallest of the
2017 sites. SUTTON VALENCE was allo-
cated 100 houses on three sites in 2017. Now a substantial area for 100 houses, including Haven Farm and Fir Tree Farm, is added in the centre of the village opposite the village hall. YALDING was allocated 165 homes on two sites in 2017. Now a substantial development is pro- posed north of Kenward Road (100). The parish council is oppos- ing this.
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