Kentish Express Ashford & District
Apology after neighbours not invited to homes consultation
Council forced to add extra event after garden village leaflet fiasco
A public relations firm has been forced to apologise after leaflets advising of a public consultation over a huge development on the outskirts of Ashford did not arrive.
Fabrik was hired to run the event, canvassing neighbours on the Heathlands garden village scheme, which could see 5,000 homes built north of Lenham.
The firm said it had prepared more than 6,500 pamphlets to be delivered to houses in Lenham, Lenham Heath, Harrietsham, Sandway, Hollingbourne, Leeds and Charing ahead of the threeday consultation last week, but now admits “not all of the leaflets were delivered and we apologise for this error.”
Fabrik said it would be looking into the issue with the independent distribution company that was supposed to deliver the leaflets.
Meanwhile, Maidstone Borough Council and its development partner in the scheme,
Homes England, said they would be holding an extra community engagement event in Lenham in May as a result of the mix-up.
The consultation had already drawn criticism from protesters, who were unhappy about the need to book a 10-minute slot to attend, and the fact the events
were being held away from Lenham, at the Great Danes Hotel in Hollingbourne.
They feared it would prevent people attending.
Lenham Cllr Janetta Sams had warned many people would not want to make the seven-mile journey from Lenham to
Hollingbourne, especially on a Sunday when buses came only once every two hours.
On the first day of the consultation, the booking system was abandoned after fewer than 40 people turned up all day.
However, Maidstone council had added a third date, at Lenham
Community Centre which was held on Tuesday last week.
Fabrick’s admission about the leaflet error came after an intervention by Helen Whately, the MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, who wrote to the head of planning at Homes England to complain about the consultation process.
Mrs Whately said of the lack of publicity: “This is extremely concerning as it may deny people the chance to be involved in extremely far-reaching decisions.
“Secondly, there is a great deal of concern about where the hearings for the consultation are taking place.
“The Great Danes Hotel is a good seven miles from Lenham Heath. This makes it hard to get to for people without a car. “
Save Our Heathlands, the residents group opposed to the garden village, sent Maidstone council a list of 22 roads in Lenham, seven in Lenham Heath, and four in Charing Heath that had not received a leaflet, and said that no homes in Platts Heath had received one.