Government inspector Robert Mellor has published his interim report into Maidstone Council’s Local Plan, which sets the area’s housing target. This is how those involved on all sides of the debate have reacted. Alan Smith reports ‘Strange that our officer
The government inspector ruling on Maidstone council’s Local Plan has ruled 900 homes need to be slashed from the target.
As we reported last week, that means 17,660 homes should be built by 2031.
Another finding from inspector Robert Mellor was that two housing sites along Boughton Lane will be deleted from the plan.
That was described as ‘very positive’ by Sean Carter, planning chairman with the North Loose Residents Association.
He said: “We are rather bemused it has taken a planning inspector to establish they would create a severe traffic problem, when our own local planning officers seem to have been unable to understand that.”
One of the sites was for 180 homes on the playing fields at New Line Learning Academy for Ward Homes. Even though the inspector has made his decision, a planning appeal is looming.
Much of the evidence given to the public examination was presented by a co-ordinating team representing the interests of Kent Association of Local Councils Maidstone Area, the Maidstone Joint Parishes Group, the Campaign to Protect Rural England Maidstone Branch, the Bearsted and Thurnham Society and Leeds Castle.
The group said: “We are grateful to the inspector for his patience in considering our input. There are several interim findings which we welcome, but have reservations about others.”
The group said it still had difficulty in understanding how the council had managed to demonstrate it had successfully discharged its duty to co-operate with other boroughs, which the inspector felt it had.
But it welcomed the fact the inspector had set aside the proposed 900 increase in housing numbers on affordability grounds.
The team said it was very surprised that the inspector had not removed Woodcut Farm in Hollingbourne from the site allocations. It has been earmarked for employment use, either through offices or industrial buildings.
Helen Whately, Faversham and Mid Kent MP, has written to the planning inspector saying he could have cut housing numbers further.
She also said it wasn’t right infrastructure concerns had not been properly addressed.