Agenda item
Questions and answer session for members of the public
Minutes:
There were three questions from Members of the Public.
Question from Mr Richard Proctor to the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee
‘Your second stage masterplan for your garden community proposal at Lenham Heath now acknowledges SOHL's view that the Chapel Farm quarry will significantly delay any kind of housing development for a substantial area of the site. However, your masterplan still believes it will deliver all 4,000 new homes by 2042. How is this possible when over a third of your identified residential land will not be available until the 2050s at the earliest?’
The Chairman responded to the question.
Mr Richard Proctor asked the following supplementary question:
‘Under these circumstances, would you agree that if there is no definite date, that at this stage the site itself should actually be removed from the local plan to give certainty to the process and to the local people who may be affected by the proposal?’
The Chairman responded to the question.
Question from Mr Steve Heely to the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee
‘Your second stage masterplan for your garden community proposal identifies a total of 100 developable hectares for 4,000 new homes. Your five principal landowners own around half of this land. Can you assure the Public and this Committee's Members that you have the permission from the remaining smaller landowners to include their holdings in your plans and more importantly have their consent to submit it as part of the Council's Call for Sites process?’
The Chairman responded to the question.
Mr Steve Heeley asked the following supplementary question:
‘Lenham Heath’s residents are incredibly angry at the moment with the updated plan, still a large number of homes and land holdings in your map on pages 30-31 of the vision document. These areas are identified for new houses, how do we are residents get our land removed from your plan once and for all?’
The Chairman responded to the question.
Question rom Ms Kate Hammond to the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee
‘In April this committee resolved that ‘any possible Garden Community at Lenham Heath should be supported by a motorway junction’. Your second stage masterplan now acknowledges that a new junction is not deliverable. With a lack of enabling infrastructure do you now agree that this project has so many significant issues it is unsustainable and simply unviable in the current financial climate?’
The Chairman responded to the question.
Ms Kate Hammond asked the following supplementary question:
‘We understand the council has government housing numbers to meet, however are members happy to meet these numbers with a scheme that in reality looks to be in the distance and does not work for so many reasons and has a huge financial and reputational risk to the council?’
The Chairman responded to the question.
The full responses were recorded on the webcast and were made available to view on the Maidstone Borough Council Website.
To access the webcast recording, please use the link below: