Kentish Express Ashford & District
‘Severe’ traffic concerns over 750-home proposal
A damning report by highways chiefs has identified the “severe” impact a 750-home development will have on traffic - prompting a recommendation to refuse the current plan.
Developers at Quinn Estates want to build the so-called Large Burton estate on fields off Willesborough Road and have submitted an outline application to Ashford Borough Council (ABC).
But Kent County Council’s highways and transportation division has highlighted its concerns with parking, road capacity and the applicant’s queue forecasts in the new report.
The authority’s principal transport and development planner Matt Hogben says the scheme - officially called Conningbrook Park and proposed for fields opposite the existing Little Burton estate will have a big impact on the road network.
Mr Hogben wrote: “The proposals will result in ‘severe’ capacity issues at the William Harvey Hospital roundabout and along the A28 corridor between the Conningbrook roundabout and the junction of Simone Weil Avenue and Canterbury Road, with no mitigation schemes currently being agreed with the local highway authority to address these capacity issues.”
The traffic authority’s analysis has found it currently takes four minutes and 55 seconds to drive from the Conningbrook roundabout to the signalled junction between Magazine Road and the A28 Canterbury Road during the morning rush hour.
In the afternoon, it currently takes three minutes and 54 seconds.
But by 2030, the KCC model predicts the journey time in the mornings will increase to 36 minutes and seven seconds if the Large Burton development - along with other schemes which have already been approved - is built.
In the afternoon, the estimated journey time shoots up to 11 minutes and 11 seconds.
The report adds: “The 2030 ‘with development’ model demonstrates the route falls apart once the development is added to the model.
“Mitigation is therefore required along the corridor otherwise the proposals will result in a ‘severe’ capacity issue.”
The report also raises concerns over the area towards Junction 10, saying: “KCC has concerns the William Harvey Hospital roundabout has not been currently modelled correctly by the applicant.
“The operation of this roundabout is hampered at certain times of the peak hour period.
“The [Quinn Estates] model does currently not replicate this as it assumes a balanced flow across the peak period.”
Despite Quinn Estates announcing its intention in July to go through with the estate plan, KCC also highlighted a lack of consultation from the developers before the plan was submitted.
It said: “Unfortunately KCC highways and transportation did not have any pre-application discussions with the applicant regarding the proposed site layout for the detailed element of the site and there are a number of fundamental concerns with the application as currently submitted.”
Ultimately, in its current state, the traffic officer recommends the refusal of the scheme, citing that “the proposals do not conform to the agreed [planning authority] standards and do not, therefore, meet the guidelines in respect of highway safety, convenience and sustainability”.
The report also raises fears over parking, saying: “The proposals do not provide adequate vehicle parking facilities in terms of allocated visitor parking and parking for the community centre within the site and this is likely to lead to vehicles being parked on the highway, to the detriment of highway safety.”
Responding to the recommendation, a Quinn Estates spokesman said: “Essentially, this is quite normal. They’ll work with us before the plan comes in.
“They point out which things need resolving, the report informs us of what we’ll need to do - probably in the next couple of weeks - to avoid its refusal.
“They raise the points that need to be looked into.
“We work with KCC, and you normally have a stage one road safety audit and consultation but you don’t do that without finalising the plan first, so we’ve got to finalise it first.
“We’ll look at the points raised with our traffic consultants, but we’re content that we can overcome any issues raised by KCC.”
Quinn Estates has submitted a hybrid application to ABC, asking for outline planning permission for up to 430 homes and full planning permission for 320.
The 81.9-acre agricultural site has been earmarked for development under ABC’s Local Plan.
As well as the homes, a primary school, gym and community centre are also planned for the land.
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