Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Grigg, Kimmance and Trzebinski.

Councillor Cox was present as Substitute Member for Councillor Grigg.

There were no urgent items.

There were no Visiting Members.

There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

RESOLVED: That all items on the agenda be taken in public as proposed.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 March 2024 be approved as a correct record and signed.

RESOLVED: That the Forward Plan relating to the Committee’s Terms of Reference, be noted.

The Cabinet Member for Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development introduced the report and explained that this was the first formal public consultation on the draft Royal Tunbridge Wells Town Centre Plan. The information provided in the report was largely positive having little impact on Maidstone. The response provided in Appendix 1 to the report was supportive with no particular issues with the proposals.

The Committee were in agreement with proposed response.

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to the CABINET MEMBER: That

1.  The current consultation on the draft Royal Tunbridge Wells Town Centre Plan – Vision 2040 be noted; and

2.  The draft response to the consultation, as appended in Appendix 1 to the report, be agreed and submitted to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council ahead of the 15 April 2024 consultation response deadline.

The Cabinet Member for Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development introduced the report, which related to the consultation response for the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC) local plan at the request of their local plan inspector.

There were three main issues raised by the inspector including:

• consistency of the assessment of sites in the Green Belt;
  
  
• concerns about the deliverability of the proposed Tudeley Village in the manner envisioned; and
  
  
• concerns around flood risk relating to strategic housing and employment growth proposed at Paddock Wood and land at east Capel.

The Cabinet Member highlighted concerns that the proposed removal of sites at Tudeley Village and Paddock Wood could result in TWBC requesting that Maidstone take some of their housing growth, which Maidstone borough is not currently in a position to be able to do given the recent adoption of the Local Plan Review and the planned levels of growth contained within it. There were also concerns that the proposed early review would not be feasible and that a 10 rather than 15 year plan was not ‘sound’.

These concerns were reflected in the consultation response letter, which the Committee agreed should be submitted.

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to the CABINET MEMBER: That

1. The current consultation on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s response to the Inspector’s initial findings letter on the Examination of their new Local Plan be noted; and
   
   
2. The draft response to the consultation, in Appendix 1 to the report, be agreed for submission to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council ahead of the 12 April 2024 consultation response deadline.

6.30 p.m. to 6.49 p.m.