Access fears delay decision on plan for village homes
MP joins protesters outside the Town Hall
A controversial outline planning application for 210 homes in Coxheath has been put on hold.
The scheme from the Charterhouse Property Group angered people in the village, plus those in nearby Loose, giving rise to a 600-signature petition plus 275 individual letters of objection.
Protests also came from both parish councils.
Helen Grant, MP for Maidstone and the Weald, joined 50 objectors from Hands Off Coxheath as they picketed the Town Hall ahead of the planning meeting.
She said: “I’m standing shoulder to shoulder with these campaigners. We can’t just stand back and watch some of our fabulous big villages get completely and utterly ruined.
“I’m hoping councillors will listen to the people and see sense.”
Chief among the concerns was the proposed access to the site from Forstal Lane, which Loose villagers said would inevitably lead to more traffic on Well Street, which is only wide enough for a single vehicle in many places.
Cllrs Brian Mortimer (Lib Dem) pointed out an alternative access was available, by linking up with the neigbouring newly-built Willow Grange estate, which would take traffic up onto Heath Road, the B2163.
The applicants are reluctant to do this because it would mean paying for the right to cross a ransom strip between the two sites, owned by Alan Firmin Ltd.
The site is allocated in the borough’s proposed Local Plan for 195 homes. Cllr Sue Grigg (Lib Dem) said: “We are paying the price for not having a 3D Local Plan. There is no point sticking sites in if there is not the infrastructure to support them.”
The planning committee voted unanimously to defer the application for further investigation on five issues.
They were to consider alternative means of access and what mitigation should be in place if the access remained the same, to check whether the money contribution to South Borough Primary was still needed and explore whether this could instead go to Coxheath Primary.
They will also look at a guide height for properties, and the rounding of the site boundary, and consider a robust landscaping condition and to amend the location of the open space.
No date has been set for further consideration by the planning committee.