Agenda item

Questions and answer session for members of the public

Minutes:

There were four questions from Members of the Public.

 

Question from Ms Kate Hammond to the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee

‘Your report on the Council-led garden community states that 'very good progress continues to be made with the project'. In the last twelve months, you have dropped the High-Speed rail station, motorway junction and secondary school from your plans. There are countless other issues with the proposed site. Three principal landowners have pulled out of the project and there seems to be a lot of confusion on how many homes the site will be able to deliver. You’re resorting to scare tactics such as compulsory purchase orders. You have not made any progress in getting even one landowner to sign terms. Apart from a promised collaboration agreement with Homes England, please can you explain what you believe to be 'very good progress?’.

 

The Chairman responded to the question.

 

Question from Mr Darren Hammond to the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee

‘You have spent nearly £400,000 of council taxpayer's money in the last 18 months on the Heathlands council-led garden community and are making budget provision for a further £1.7m in future years. Is this a good use of public money in the current financial climate especially when so many other Garden Villages are failing in Local Plans?’.

 

The Chairman responded to the question.

 

Mr Hammond asked the following supplementary question:

 

‘How can the Council continue to justify the financial risk of Heathlands when the proposal rates so poorly in every independent assessment, and so many other vital services in the Borough are desperate for funds, for example the Hazlitt Theatre and Maidstone Leisure Centre, in the current climate?’.

 

The Chairman responded to the supplementary question.

 

Question from Ms Gail Duff to the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee

 

Eight principal landowners within the Heathlands council-led garden community project received draft Heads of Terms for agreement over a year ago on 17th January 2020. Please can you confirm how many landowners have signed Heads of Terms for land within the Heathlands project?’.

 

The Chairman responded to the question.

 

 

 

Ms Duff asked the following supplementary question:

 

One of the five principle land owners told us that Maidstone Council is ‘barking up the wrong tree’ in respect to the Heathlands Council-Led Garden Community. Do you think you are barking up the wrong tree?’.

 

The Chairman responded to the supplementary question.

 

Question from Mr Steve Heeley to the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee

 

Your report on the Council-led garden community states that 'constructive dialogue continues with the five principal landowners'. Please can you confirm how many times you or your appointed lawyers have held meetings with each of the five principal landowners, as a group or individually, in the last 12 months?’.

 

The Chairman responded to the question.

 

Mr Heeley asked the following supplementary question:

 

‘Can you confirm whether you have met with each of the five individual landowners in the last 12 months?’.

 

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.

 

To access the recording, please use the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjSSCmfm8Pg