Apologies were received from Councillor Springett.

Councillor S Webb was present as Substitute for Councillor Springett.

The Chairman stated that three urgent updates would be taken in relation to Item 14 – Maidstone Local Plan Review – Regulation 19 Consultation, Evidence Documents and Sustainability Appraisal Consultation, as they contributed to its consideration. These were:

-  An updated Map 2, Appendix 2 – Policies Map

-  The ‘Maidstone Transport Model – Option 2 Test Results’ as made available as a background document; and

-  A series of amendments, including a change to Recommendation 3 of the report, as entitled ‘Urgent Update Number 2’.

Councillors J and T Sams were present as Visiting Members for Item 11 – Questions from Members to the Chairman.

Councillors Brindle, Bryant, English, Harwood, Hinder, Perry, Round, J Sams, and R Webb were present as Visiting Members for Item 14 – Maidstone Local Plan Review – Regulation 19 Consultation, Evidence Documents and Sustainability Appraisal Consultation.

There were no disclosures of interest, however Councillors Garten, Munford and Russell declared that they would be taking part in the meeting’s proceedings with an open mind.

All Councillors had been lobbied on Item 14 – Maidstone Local Plan Review – Regulation 19 Consultation, Evidence Base and Sustainability Appraisal.

RESOLVED: That all items be taken in public, unless any Member of the Committee wished to refer to Item 15 – Exempt Appendix 4: Working Draft Statements of Common Ground with neighbouring authorities and other prescribed bodies.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 21 September 2021 be approved as a correct record and signed.

There were no petitions.

There were two questions from Members of the Public.

Question from Ms Kate Hammond to the Chairman of the Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee

‘Please confirm the number of hectares of greenfield land make up the total proposed residential site allocations in the draft Local Plan?’

The Chairman responded to the question.

Ms Hammond asked the following supplementary question:

‘Last Wednesday, Councillor David Burton claimed that climate change is at the core of every decision and action the Council takes. So, was climate change policy at the core of the decisions to build on 543 hectares of greenfield land? Does the council feel that removing 543 hectares of greenfield land is consistent with climate change policy?’

The Chairman responded to the supplementary question.

Question from Mr Steve Heeley to the Chairman of the Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee

‘What role has the Sustainability Appraisal played in informing your draft Local Plan?’

The Chairman responded to the question.

Mr Heeley asked the following supplementary question.

‘The Local Plan Review Sustainability Appraisal states in paragraph 4.47: The Garden Settlement option that performed most strongly in sustainable terms is Lidsing, followed by North Marden. Heathlands performed least well across the range of sustainability objectives.

Why is Marden Garden settlement not included in your draft Local Plan and Heathlands is?’

The Chairman responded to the supplementary question.

The full responses were recorded on the webcast and made available to view on the Maidstone Borough Council website. The question-and-answer session took place between minutes 10:53 to 14:44 of the recording.

To access the webcast recording, please use the link below:

Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee - 4 October 2021 - YouTube

There were two questions from Members to the Chairman.

Question from Councillor T Sams to the Chairman of the Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee

‘Garden communities Heathlands, Policy SP4 A and Lidsing Policy SP4 B within the document being discussed this evening.  When are you planning to make public the initial evidence from the Barton Wilmore report commissioned that stated that their selection was made on the basis of them being the sustainable options and not as residents feel selection as they are the furthest corners of the borough and therefore politically acceptable?’

The Chairman responded to the question.

Question from Councillor J Sams to the Chairman of the Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee

‘This council has sought advice from leaders in the field with regard to garden communities over the past 3 years. It has paid for consultants to produce reports to establish its own garden community scheme in Heathlands and now we have learnt at a SPI workshop last week, is paying for another expert Ben Aspinall to oversee the garden communities are deliverable with regard to their soundness and acceptable to this council. Can you please explain why this is the case and is the cost of the employing yet another "independent" consultant an additional cost to the council on top of the £1.5m for Heathlands?’

The Chairman responded to the supplementary question.

The full responses were recorded on the webcast and made available to view on the Maidstone Borough Council website. The question-and-answer took place between minutes 14:52 to 18:04 of the recording.

To access the webcast recording, please use the link below:

Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee - 4 October 2021 - YouTube

RESOLVED: That the Committee Work Programme be noted.

There were no reports of Outside Bodies.

The following speakers addressed the Committee; Mrs Sue Harwood, Ms Helen Baker; Against Lidsing Garden Development, Mr Steve Heeley; Save Our Heathlands; Councillor Jones; Chairman of Bredhurst Parish Council and Councillor Coulling; Vice-Chairman of Maidstone KALC.

The Interim Local Plan Review Director introduced the item by reiterating the timeline of events up until the Regulation 19 ‘draft for submission’ documents stage of the Local Plan Review (LPR). Having an adopted Local Plan (LP) would enable the Council to properly defend appeals and the refusal of planning consents and to ensure that any development within the borough was suitable, having considered any mitigating measures required to the benefit of local communities.

To ensure that the 5-year housing land supply was maintained, the spatial strategy within the Regulation 19 documents focused on a continued dispersal strategy with two Garden Community proposals to deliver a high volume of units towards the end of the plan period.

The Lidsing Garden Community proposal would deliver 1200 units in the current plan period and 700 in the next period, alongside further infrastructure including a new country park and a connection to junction 4 of the M2. The Heathlands Garden Community Proposal would deliver 1500 units in the current plan period and 3500 in the next period, alongside further infrastructure including a country park, a new railway station and two connections to the A20. Both proposals would provide significant employment opportunities.

The Strategic Planning Manager noted that in December 2020 a public consultation on the Regulation 18 Preferred Approaches and Sustainability Appraisal had taken place, with over 3000 responses received. Further work had been undertaken on the evidence base and documents associated with the LPR, to produce the Regulation 19 ‘draft for submission’ documents. The sites included within the documents had undergone a series of rigorous assessments including sustainability appraisals, transport modelling and viability assessments. The various spatial and non-spatial topic papers were outlined.

In response to the concerns raised by the public speakers and visiting members, the Interim Local Plan Review Director explained that the Duty to Cooperate (DtC) requirement did not require all parties to agree, but to demonstrate that the duty had been undertaken. The Invicta Barracks site proposal had been included within the all-plan viability assessment. Proposed SPDs on the Garden Community proposals would include greater detail on the proposal and associated infrastructure, with the work undertaken with the site promoters and cost consultants noted. High-level legal advice had been sought on two occasions on the process used to assess the Garden Community sites. The promoter of the Heathlands Garden Community had confirmed that conversations with Network Rail were ongoing following the latter’s receipt of a business case. The LPA was not aware of any fraudulent or police investigations in relation to any of the proposed sites within the Regulation 19 ‘draft for submission’ documents.

The Strategic Planning Manager confirmed that the Council had been in contact with the environment agency in relation to water quality and reiterated the purpose of the proposed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.

5.30 p.m. to 9.27 p.m.

Note: The Committee adjourned between 7.30 p.m. to 7.45 p.m.