How will we cope with these homes?

After reading of the proposal for 5,000 new properties in Lenham Heath, I am writing with my concerns on the matter.

It mentions that a new station may be built in the proposed new area. How will this be managed as trains running to and from London are already to their full capacity? Will Southeastern be providing more services? If this is the case, the frequency of trains will increase adding more noise and vibrations thus resulting in more pollution and almost certain structural damage to nearby buildings. We must also bear in mind that currently the Channel Tunnel is only running at 58% capacity so any new trains on the line will inevitably become faster and louder in the near future. A slip road from the M20 has also been suggested. Will this be a public through road or private? I presume Highways England (HE) are planning on replacing the current road network to help cater for this additional traffic? If not this will cause even more heavy vehicles down country lanes and through small villages when there are closures on the M20 which, at the moment seem to be a daily occurrence. And has it even been thought about when ‘Operation Brock’ is in motion. This new estate will be at a standstill due to the M20 being closed and trying to reach the A20 will take hours due to the built up motorway traffic going through it. Why are HE hell bent on punishing Kent with even more hassle?

The article mentions 5,000 homes, three primary schools and a secondary school.

How are they going to staff these schools when there is a shortage of teachers? What about other much needed facilities such as a doctors’ surgery? How are they going to staff these facilities when there are already many GP surgeries closing or closed due to lack of medically trained individuals? How are the hospitals in both Ashford and Maidstone going to handle all these additional heads? Ashford Borough Council will be building a further 50,000 homes within the next 30 years, how is this going to affect medical requirements with at least a further 110,000 people in Ashford alone?

Have the flood risks been looked in to? Building in this area will undoubtedly cause flooding. At the very least, acres of horticultural land will be submerged under water but this will also cause any rainfall to head straight to Ashford, threatening flooding to both us and Canterbury.

With climate changes upon us, rainfall is rapidly rising and by building more and more where else is this excess water going to end up, in our back gardens.

There has been a public meeting recently and it was stated that this new development if approved, would be used as a London over spill, why here? Should this not be planned closer to the capital for those that work there and not continue to clog up our county? I sincerely hope that this is rejected for all our sakes

A cartoon by reader Ted Prangnell