‘Don’t punish us for the housing boom in ballot’
Maidstone councillors are being wrongly blamed for the expansion of house-building in the borough, says the council leader. Cllr Martin Cox said he knew development and the pressure on roads and infrastructure were of concern, but to suggest he and fellow representatives were to blame was illogical. The Lib Dem said: “It’s the government which sets housing targets. Our role is to find the best sites to accommodate them.” And when it came down to controversial decisions on individual sites, Cllr Cox replied: “None of the councillors are planning professionals, we have to be guided by the advice of officers.”
Over the previous three years, an average of 1,262 homes have been built in the borough annually - 46% higher than the government-set target of 883. But that requirement is set to rise to 1,236 homes from 2022.
Cllr Cox is standing for re-election to Maidstone council in East Ward next Thursday. Among the candidates he is facing is an Independent, Kate Hammond, who is standing on an anti-housing platform and who says Cllr Cox must be “held to account” for the council’s expansionist housing policy. But Cllr Cox said: “If Mrs Hammond were elected, she would find herself forced to make many of the same decisions.” Mrs Hammond is the chairman of the Save Our Heathlands group, which is opposed to the borough council’s plan to act as joint master developer and build a garden village of 4,000 homes at Lenham Heath.
Cllr Cox said: “Nobody wants it, I get that. But if we didn’t have building there we would have to find room for another 4,000 homes elsewhere.” He said residents sometimes accused him of “being out to destroy Maidstone.”
He replied: “That’s ridiculous. I have lived in Maidstone for 45 years. Why would I want anything but the best for our town?” The candidates standing in East Ward on May 6 are Martin Cox (Lib Dem), Harprit Dogra (Con), Kate Hammond (Ind), Marlyn Randall (Lab) and James Shalice (Green).