All Members stated that they had been lobbied.

The Committee considered the report and the urgent update report of the Head of Planning and Development.

Mr Dickmann addressed the meeting on behalf of the applicant.

RESOLVED:  That subject to:

A.  The final details of highway mitigation and trigger points being agreed and secured by the most appropriate method through either a legal agreement or by way of a condition in conjunction with the Kent Highway Services and the Highways Agency and the withdrawal/expiry of the Holding Direction;

AND

B.  The completion of further negotiations with the applicant to secure the satisfactory phasing of development to ensure the delivery of the most beneficial aspects of the proposals and this phasing being included as a clause in the legal agreement;

AND

C.  The prior completion of a legal agreement, in such terms as the Head of Legal Services may advise, to secure the following:

·  The provision of a minimum level of medical facilities and services (including research and training) on the site for a period of five years and to ensure that insofar as the NHS may require to ‘purchase’ services, the applicants commit to make such provision available to the NHS to a level of at least 25%;

·  The occupation of the neuro-rehabilitation village to be restricted to those signed up to at least a minimum level care package;

·  The limitation of any residential (C3) units to those key workers directly employed in the medical services on the site;

·  A site-wide Framework Travel Plan including the minimising of car parking, together with a Travel Plan Monitoring Fee of £10,000;

·  The provision of an extension to the Sittingbourne Road Park and Ride bus service to serve the site, at a trigger point to be agreed with the Local Planning and Highway Authorities.  As a minimum, the service should provide a 10-12 minute peak time and 15 minute off-peak frequency between the site and Maidstone Town Centre until 6 p.m. and an hourly frequency between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Mondays to Saturdays.  A minimum 30 minute frequency service should operate on Sundays;

·  The implementation, maintenance, management and monitoring of the proposed landscape and ecology mitigation and enhancement works through the Landscape and Ecology Management Plan;

·  A contribution of £20,000 for future parking controls to be implemented on the highway, should parking over spill become evident;

·  Primary school contributions for the residential (C3) elements – new school build costs at £1,000 per applicable flat and £4,000 per applicable house (‘applicable’ means all dwellings except 1 bed of less than 56sqm GIA, and sheltered accommodation);

·  Primary school contributions for the residential (C3) elements – land cost contribution of £675.41 per ‘applicable’ flat and £2,701.63 per ‘applicable’ house;

·  Secondary school contributions for the residential (C3) elements – £589.95 per applicable flat and £2,359.80 per applicable house;

·  Library contributions for the residential (C3) elements – £73.67 per household;

·  Adult Education contributions for the residential (C3) elements – £30.70 per household;

·  Youth contributions for the residential (C3) elements – £8.44 per household;

·  Social Services contributions for the residential (C3) elements – £47.44 per household;

·  The establishment and funding of a Monitoring Committee to review all aspects of the development; and

·  The implementation of training programmes during the construction process to secure a local workforce,

the Head of Planning and Development be given delegated powers to grant outline permission subject to the conditions and informatives set out in the report, as amended by the urgent update report, and the additional informative set out in the urgent update report.

Voting:  7 – For  4 – Against  2 – Abstentions

Note:

Councillors Chittenden, Cox, Harwood and Paterson requested that their dissent be recorded.

Councillor Hogg entered the meeting after consideration of this application (7.10 p.m.), and Councillor McLoughlin took a seat in the public gallery.