We weren’t to blame for plans

Peter Stevens is quite right to say [KM, April 1] that Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council should be held to account for the decisions that it makes - but it’s a bit much to be asked be held accountable for the decisions of others!

We have not “allowed this situation to develop” in adopting a Local Plan for the borough. More than two years ago, in January 2019, the borough council both agreed and submitted a Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate, which has since been met with obstruction and delay. Our local plan addressed the level of housing growth calculated by the government; however, we are now being penalised for not offering to take even more housing than the significant increase expected of the borough area.

We were also expecting the Planning Inspectorate to consider our local plan in a timely manner, and certainly in less than two years. Had they done so, then we would have met the demands of the five-year-land supply rule.

When drawing up the plan, the borough council made difficult decisions in striking a balance between ensuring that enough homes are built to meet local needs, and protecting our valuable green spaces.

We think the Inspectorate have come to the wrong conclusion about Forty Acre Field – an area that we had specifically allocated as future Green Belt - and that they have been disgracefully slow and uncooperative in approving a Local Plan which fully meets local needs.

It is difficult to see how elected members and officers at Tonbridge and Malling could have done more to protect these fields; members voted against the application and we defended that decision at appeal. It is with regret that local opinion was overturned.

Cllr David Lettington

Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council