To seek approval of the proposed consultation response as set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

That Maidstone Borough Council’s response to the Medway Local Plan Regulation 18 consultation, attached as Appendix 1 to the report, be approved for submission to Medway Council.

Medway Council is currently consulting on an early stage (Regulation 18) Local Plan document. The consultation runs from 15 July to 11:59pm on Sunday, 8 September 2024.

The full draft response is set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

Background

Medway Council is preparing a new Local Plan. It is intended that this Plan, once adopted, will supersede the 2003 Medway Local plan. The new Local Plan will cover the period to 2041.

Medway Council is now carrying out a public consultation on the new Local Plan. This is a Regulation 18 stage consultation in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, as amended. The consultation document is titled ‘Medway Local Plan 2041 (Regulation 18, July 2024). The document sets out proposed policies and identifies preferred sites for new development.

Further information about the consultation and links to view documents are available online: https://www.medway.gov.uk/info/200542/medway_local_plan_2041/1823/medway_local_plan_regulation_18_consultation_2024

Medway’s Local Development Scheme (LDS) sets out the timetable for preparing the Local Plan. A new LDS was adopted by Medway Council in February 2024.  Following the current Regulation 18 consultation the LDS provides for a Regulation 19 consultation (January 2025), Regulation 22 submission of the Local Plan to the Secretary of State for examination (June 2025) and adoption (autumn 2026).

Medway Council consulted on an earlier version of the Local Plan in 2023 to which the Council responded. The response can be found in the background papers (background document 1).

Consultation Content

The consultation document contains the following chapters:

·  Overview

·  Vision & strategic objectives

·  Spatial growth options

·  Natural environment

·  Built environment

·  Housing

·  Economic Development

·  Retail & town centres

·  Transport

·  Health, communities & infrastructure

·  Minerals supply

·  Waste management

·  Energy

The document also contains 89 draft policies.

Associated with the document is a draft policies map that sets out in greater detail the specific allocations proposed to support the preferred spatial strategy. Also, it contains environmental designations.

Maidstone Borough Council response

MBC has a statutory duty to cooperate with prescribed bodies, including neighbouring local authorities, on strategic, cross-boundary matters. The Council has and will continue to engage positively and proactively with Medway through the Local Plan process. The consultation response reaffirms this position and welcomes the opportunity to comment on the emerging local plan as part of the ongoing engagement.

MBC’s draft response is set out in Appendix 1 to the report. However, set out below are the main elements of that response, including:

·  Document structure,

·  Impact on North Downs National Landscape,

·  Housing Strategy,

·  Employment strategy,

·  Retail strategy,

·  Infrastructure strategy,

·  Transport Impacts,

·  Evidence base,

·  The Duty to Cooperate,

·  The Policies Map, and;

·  Impact on Lidsing Garden Community.

·  Environmental impacts

These topics have been raised as officers have concerns and queries as to the approach taken. Specifically:

·  The Council would like to be reassured that that Medway Council is seeking to meet its own housing need and see this enshrined in policy.

·  The Council raised various concerns regarding the impact of the Medway Local Plan proposals on the North Downs National Landscape and associated recreational and environmental impacts

·  The Council would like clarity on the spatial strategy for housing, the future of the Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre, and the employment strategy for Medway due to the implications for its own adopted Local Plan Review site allocations.

·  The Council would like to see more of the evidence base regarding infrastructure and transport to support the policies and spatial strategy promoted in the plan.

·  The Council would like to see the Lidsing Garden Community mentioned in the plan along with its supporting infrastructure that falls within Medway’s Local Plan Area.

·  The Council would like to understand Medway Council’s strategic matters for the Duty to Cooperate.

·  The environmental impacts with proposed development on ecology and protected habitats that are located near to the proposed development in the Capstone Valley.

The report was considered by the Planning and Healthier Stronger Communities Policy Advisory Committee on Wednesday 4 September 2024 who recommended that the response at appendix 1 be approved for submission to Medway Council with the following suggested amendments to the letter at Appendix 1 to the report:

• To make specific reference to gypsy and traveller community in addition to the local housing needs in our duty to cooperate; and
• To include a sentence that the Council is willing to go beyond its duty to cooperate in its working arrangement with Medway Council.

Option 2: That the draft response be approved by the Cabinet Member for Planning Policy and Management, subject to further comments and changes. Depending on the extent and timing of the receipt of these comments, this would allow the response to be sent by the submission deadline.

Option 3: That the draft response is not approved by the Cabinet Member for Planning Policy and Management.

These options were not selected as it could mean the response would not be sent and the Council’s views on the Regulation 18 document would not be duly submitted for consideration by Medway Council as work on their Local Plan progresses. It may also compromise the Council’s ability to demonstrate it has fulfilled its statutory duty to cooperate.