Homes scheme: so many questions
Editor News editor Assistant news editor Maidstone council has approved the development of 310 residential dwellings on land adjacent to Royal Engineers Road near the old Springfield library. This proposal will consist of two buildings between eight and 18 storeys – the highest will be 60 metres tall. Some design aspects have addressed the visual impact, but will the structure be ‘iconic’ or an ‘imposing tower block’?
The issue of parking is sensitive, but the 310 dwellings will only have 187 spaces – lack of parking could turn many families away. One councillor was concerned that unsold dwellings could go to London councils to assist with rehousing. Everyone deserves a home, but is this development a top-end scheme or a social housing experiment?
What safeguards are there to stop a repeat of the Travelodge fiasco and will any management company be present in five to 10 years from now? If the project goes over budget will the planned roof allotments be shelved to make way for savings? Most trees with protection orders are to be saved, but will this still provide wildlife corridors?
What contribution will this development make to the area? The local St Faiths’ Hall is in need of finances and the nearest doctors’ surgery didn’t accept any new patients during the whole of 2016. Will this development achieve its aspirations or will it be an albatross hanging around the neck of Maidstone for the next few decades? Derek Whitehead Ringlestone resident
“Large towns will have special arterial routes. There will be but little noise, no smell, no dust. No bacteria will breed in fermenting horse manure, and the water cart will be unknown. Europe will become for the motorist one vast holiday area. The country with the best roads will become more and more prosperous. Roads will be justly regarded as the necessary hallmark of civilisation.”
History shows us that nobody took any notice of this gentleman, and certainly 112 years later not all the politicians in the County Town of Kent.
Paul (Carter), it’s time to stop fiddling while the population choke and develop dementia, and businesses stagnate and die. If we are to have a successful town you need to take note of all that the people are telling and offering you, and not just listen to the NIMBYs. Don and Jenny Wright Willington Street, Maidstone