Decision details

To consider the borough's objectively assessed needs arising from the Strategic Housing Market Assessment. It will seek Member approval of the draft local plan spatial strategy for public consultation, including the targets for new dwellings and employment/retail floorspace.

a)  That the borough’s objectively assessed housing need of 19,600 dwellings for the local plan period 2011 to 2031 as the basis for determining the housing provision for the borough be agreed;

b)  That the currently identified potential to make provision for 17,100 dwellings, subject to full consideration of proposed housing site allocations in February 2014 be noted;

c)  That the borough’s objectively assessed need of 37 hectares for office, industry and warehousing based sectors and at the Maidstone medical campus for the plan period 2011 to 2031, and the draft provisions for employment floorspace (offices 39,830m²; industry 20,290m²; warehousing 49,911m²; medical 98,000m²) be noted;

d)  That the key local issues, as amended, set out in paragraph 1.3.46 of the report of the Head of Planning and Development be noted; and

e)  That the spatial vision and objectives, as amended, set out in paragraph 1.3.48 of the report of the Head of Planning and Development be agreed, subject to the earlier decision of the Cabinet to defer the decision on Policies SP3 and SP4 which impacts on the designation of Coxheath and Yalding as Rural Service Centres and the designation of Larger Settlements.

Introduction

Since the Cabinet decision[1] to prepare a single Maidstone Borough Local Plan, Cabinet has received several reports on groups of local plan policies.  Members have given consideration to spatial policies for urban and rural areas together with more detailed development management policies.

The spatial strategy and development targets were initially set out in the Core Strategy, which was subject to public consultation in September/October 2011.  However, new government guidance, namely the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published in 2012 (and subsequent draft National Planning Practice Guidance 2013), required the evidence base supporting the spatial strategy to be updated.  Consequently, the Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA), the Economic Sensitivity Testing and Employment Land Forecast report, Strategic Housing and Economic Development Land Availability Assessments (SHLAA and SEDLAA), and the Town Centre Assessment and Retail Capacity Study have been prepared as part of the local plan evidence base.  In addition, a consultation draft Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy has been produced.

In 2011 the council sought the public’s views on a housing target of 10,080 for the period 2006 to 2026, using a dispersed distribution of development.  The main issues raised by respondents were reported to Cabinet on 25 July 2012.  There were mixed responses to the Council’s 10,080 dwelling target whereby some respondents supported the target (22 respondents or 5%) while others believed it was too high or too low (42 respondents or 9%).  A proportion of the development industry proposed a higher target, while residents sought a reduction. 

There was a consensus of support from both the development industry and residents for a dispersed distribution pattern of development that delivers housing at the urban fringe and at rural service centres, although a minority of respondents did object in part or as a whole. 

There was support for the principle of identifying a strategic housing development location to the north west of the urban area in the vicinity of Allington, although some objections focused on reducing the amount of housing proposed.  A number of residents and the adjoining local authority unconditionally objected to development in this location (47 respondents or 10%) on the grounds of increased traffic congestion, the impact on the landscape, and maintenance of the strategic gap between conurbations.

There was general support for the south east strategic housing development location around Park Wood and Otham (6 respondents or 1%).  In the main, objections were from a minority section of the development industry who objected to a move away from a strategic development area that would accommodate 3,000 or 5,000 dwellings supported by a strategic link road.

There was a call for the inclusion of specific targets for rural service centres, as opposed to a single target to be distributed amongst the 5 villages[2] (27 respondents or 6%).  Part of the development industry wished to see detailed strategic development site allocations, as opposed to the strategic development locations identified on the key diagram of the consultation document.  Site allocations within strategic development locations together with specific housing targets for rural service centres were the subject of a further public consultation in 2012: Core Strategy Strategic Site Allocations.  Representations on strategic site allocations were considered when the allocations were confirmed at the Cabinet meeting of 13 March 2013.  Respondents to the 2012 consultation sought site specific allocations at the rural service centres as opposed to overall village targets.  The move to prepare a single local plan overcomes this objection.

In December 2012, Kent County Council issued revised demographic and labour supply forecasts for Maidstone borough, which took account of the latest CLG household projections.  The forecasts were based on the new local plan period 2011 to 2031 and revealed an interim housing provision of 14,800 dwellings[3].  Consideration was given to the findings of the forecasts at the Cabinet meeting of 13 March 2013.  This interim figure was never tested through public consultation but superseded the 10,080 dwelling target for the former plan period (2006/26).  The new SHMA, which has been prepared in accordance with national guidance using the latest data from CLG and the Office for National Statistics, will supersede all former demographic forecasts for housing provisions.

The report of the Head of Planning and Development focused on the outputs from updated evidence documents for housing and economic development and, also taking into account previous consultation representations together with changes to national planning policy, sets out the consequential revisions to the local plan spatial vision and objectives and the implications for the borough’s development targets.

A further report bringing together all of the policies of the draft Maidstone Borough Local Plan, including the spatial strategy, development targets and site allocations, will be presented to Cabinet on 24 February 2014.  At the same meeting, Members will receive supporting reports on the Infrastructure Delivery Plan and the Community Infrastructure Levy.

Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA)

A Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) for the borough has been undertaken as a further piece of evidence to support the preparation of the local plan.  The SHMA has been prepared in partnership with Ashford and Tonbridge & Malling Borough Councils which were at a similar plan making stage to Maidstone.  Medway Council, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and Swale Borough Council were invited to take part in the exercise but declined due the stage their local plans had reached.  GL Hearn, a firm of expert consultants in this field, has undertaken the work for the three authorities.

A number of briefings and training sessions that included time for questions have been held, to assist Members in understanding the complexities of the SHMA.  These sessions were well attended by Members.

·  28 August 2013 – Presentation on the methodologies validating the SHMA (and SHLAA/SEDLAA)

·  4 & 11 November 2013 – Presentations/Workshops on the NPPF/NPPG and the importance of objectively assessed needs

·  22 November 2013 – Presentation/Q&A by Planning Advisory Service representative (Jo Lee of Peter Brett Associates) on Meeting Objectively Assessed Need: The SHMA – context and practice examples

·  9 December 2013 – Presentation/Q&A by GL Hearn (Nick Ireland and Justin Gardner) on the findings of the SHMA and housing provisions.

A principal purpose of the SHMA is to assess the overall need for additional housing in the borough for the plan period (2011-31).  The NPPF directs that Local Plans should meet “the full, objectively assessed needs” for both market and affordable housing within housing market areas as far as this is consistent with other policies in the NPPF (NPPF paragraph 47).  The housing market area reflects key functional linkages between places where people live and work.

The draft National Planning Practice Guidance 2013 (NPPG) sets out how a SHMA should be undertaken[4].  The guidance specifies that the basis for calculating the future overall need for housing must be the latest national household projections published by CLG.  The SHMA has used the interim 2011 based household projections released by CLG in 2013.  These are trend based projections that are an indication of the number of households that would form if recent demographic trends continued.  They are interim projections, rather than official statistics, because they are based on the 2011 interim sub-national population projections (SNPP) which only project population growth to 2021.  These population projections are based on the 2011 mid-year population estimates rolled forward from the Census 2011 data and applying the demographic trends used for the previous 2010-based SNPP.  New SNPP data is expected in spring 2014, and updated CLG household projections are expected towards the end of 2014.  This base information has then been further refined in the SHMA by examining the key local inputs that fed into the SNPP, and undertaking a critical assessment of more recent migration data, household formation rates and housing vacancy rates.
 

The conclusion of this analysis is that the SHMA predicts that some 19,600 new homes would need to be built over the 20 year plan period (2011-2031) for the full objective need for housing in Maidstone borough to be met, i.e. 980 dwellings per annum.

Importantly the methodology and key assumptions which underpin the assessment are common to the reports for each of the three authorities. This helps add to the rigour of the reports and means that there has been a consistent approach to the assessment of housing needs across the whole of the Maidstone housing market area which encompasses parts of Tonbridge & Malling Borough, namely Aylesford, East & West Malling, Larkfield and Snodland.  The housing market areas have been based on CLG research of 2010 (The Geography of Housing Market Areas in England – CURDS).  The administrative boundary of Maidstone falls within two housing market areas: Maidstone and Ashford (Harrietsham & Lenham and Headcorn wards), although the objectively assessed needs have been disaggregated by district. 

The extent of the Maidstone housing market area is an important consideration and the degree of integration with the Medway Towns to the north has been assessed. The labour market and migration move in both directions between Maidstone and Medway.  However, the SHMA has analysed other factors, in particular the housing “offer” (house type, size and tenure), the London influence and housing costs, and concluded that there is justification to distinguish Maidstone from Medway in market terms.

The objectively assessed housing need for Maidstone has also been benchmarked against five and ten year migration trend projections.  These provide a useful sensitivity test, but they do not take account of the impact of population age profile on migration (both in Maidstone borough and other areas from which people typically move to Maidstone).  Further sensitivity testing of the objectively assessed housing need was undertaken through the modelling of two economic scenarios.  This confirms that the scale of household growth necessary to generate sufficient working age people to support the expected growth in the economy over the same period (2011 to 2031)[5] will not exceed the objectively housing assessed need of 19,600 dwellings.

The SHMA also considers the need for affordable housing over the plan period.  The methodology draws together analysis of the number of households currently in housing need with estimates of how many additional households will require affordable housing in future years to 2031. The supply of affordable housing from existing stock re-lets, vacancies and developments in the pipeline is then derived to establish what the net requirement for new affordable housing will be.  The SHMA concludes that of the total annual requirement of 980 dwellings needed over the local plan period (2011 to 2031), 324 new affordable homes will be needed annually between 2013 and 2031.  This finding assumes that households will spend up to 30% of income on housing costs although, in fact, some households will be willing to spend a greater proportion than this. The private rented sector will also continue to have some role in providing affordable accommodation. 

The SHMA is a technical document and is a pivotal piece of the local plan evidence base. Hence an independent demographer was appointed to review Maidstone’s objectively assessed need.  The demographer has concluded that the objectively assessed need of 19,600 dwellings set out in the SHMA is the best scenario of the alternatives tested, and that the results for population, households and new homes are robust.

Representatives from local authorities, house-builders, planning agents, estate agents and registered providers attended a stakeholder presentation and workshop for the SHMA, which was held on 26 July 2013.  The workshop covered the three local authority areas but also drew comparisons with wider trends in Kent and other parts of the country. 

The key points arising from the event were:

·  Some recovery from the bottom of the market in 2007.

·  Recovery has been variable across different segments of the market and in different areas:
- Recovery in demand for family homes stronger (particularly small family homes) whilst flats remain muted
- More established, affluent buyers returned to the market more quickly, first time buyer activity less so
- Higher value rural locations and areas traditionally linked with the London market recovering more strongly.

·  Future recovery is likely to be gradual, but in higher value areas demand and pricing pressures could return to the market more rapidly.

·  Improving access to mortgage availability will be critical to the market recovery.  Help-to-Buy is greatly assisting with this, but what happens after will be important. More certainty in the employment market and increases in earnings will also be needed to sustain recovery.

·  Greater choice in the supply of sites (particularly more small sites) would help to improve housing delivery and provide an alternative to large scale allocations.

·  The private rented sector continues to grow apace, but there is a need to ensure it is aligned with need and that standards are maintained.  Demand for older persons housing and retirement accommodation is also strong.

Following the Members’ presentation on 9 December 2013, the draft SHMA was published on 9 January 2014 and is available to view or download from the local plan webpage.  At this point in time the SHMA should remain in draft because new national data on household projections is expected to be released in 2014.  Officers will monitor the implications that may arise from new releases and will report resultant actions needed to Members.

Meanwhile, subject to Cabinet decisions in February when land allocations will be recommended, there is currently potential capacity to make provision for up to 17,100 dwellings over the plan period 2011-2031.  This figure includes a yield of 8,210 dwellings from potential new SHLAA sites (in addition to the approved strategic housing sites), based on the dispersed distribution strategy formerly approved by Cabinet[6] and the borough’s environmental and infrastructure constraints.

The NPPF directs local authorities to identify deliverable housing sites for the first 5 years (it is implied this starts from the date of adoption of a local plan).  Deliverable sites, including integral infrastructure, must be available, offer a suitable location, be achievable (with a realistic prospect of being delivered within those 5 years), and be viable.  For years 6 to 10 and, where possible, years 11 to 15 following adoption (i.e. the last 10 years of the Maidstone Borough Local Plan period), sites should be developable.  Developable sites must be suitably located, and available and viable at the point of release.  The greater the number of dwellings on sites that are specifically identified as deliverable/developable, the more robust the local plan will be.  However, the NPPF also allows for the identification of broad locations for housing in this latter period.  Three broad development locations yielding a potential 3,000 dwellings will be presented to Members in February.

This appraisal would currently result in an unmet need of 2,500 dwellings which represents 13% of the objectively assessed need.  The council will need to be in a position to robustly defend any constraints to development, and to demonstrate what measures have been taken to fully meet the objectively assessed need.  These measures will be discussed in more detail in the February reports when development targets are considered, but are likely to include a further call for sites as part of the public consultation process, a reappraisal of the reasons why sites previously submitted have been rejected, and ultimately whether (under the duty to cooperate) unmet need can be satisfied by neighbouring authorities.

  Constraints to Development

The NPPF makes distinctions between the hierarchy of international, national and locally designated sites, so that protection is commensurate with their status.  Whilst the NPPF gives weight to the protection of international and national designations, this does not downgrade local designations for landscape or wildlife sites in plan making, and such sites are not suitable for development but a strong case for their protection must be made.  Another important and common theme that runs through the NPPF is the need for viable infrastructure to support new development.  The local plan must ensure that new and expanded infrastructure requirements generated by land allocations can be met.

Of international importance in Maidstone is the North Downs Woodlands Special Area of Conservation (SAC).  The borough includes 23 nationally important Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI); and 63 Local Wildlife Sites (LWS) and 2 Local Nature Reserves (LNR) which are locally important.  A large area of the borough lies within the Kent Downs AONB, a nationally important landscape designation where a strong level of protection is given.  A strong level of protection is also given to the small section of the Metropolitan Green Belt that lies to the west of the borough.  These areas are protected but they are not sacrosanct.

All landscapes have some value, but they cannot all be protected, so at the local level the focus must be on protecting the borough’s best landscapes.  Of particular local significance are the borough’s river valleys (the Medway, Loose and Len) and the scarp face of the Greensand Ridge.  Local plan policies identify and safeguard such areas, although there are currently no major pressures for housing development in these locations.

In other parts of the borough where sites have been submitted for consideration through the call for sites, local constraints have been examined through the site assessment pro forma^[7].  The pro forma has been used to assess each potential development site submitted through the SHLAA call for sites (and the SEDLAA) in order to achieve a consistent and transparent approach.  The mitigation of constraints - local landscape, ecology, highways, services, flooding and so on - has formed part of the assessments.  In accordance with the requirements of the NPPF, the availability, locational suitability, deliverability and viability of each potential development site has been examined, and the results will be available to assist Member decision making in February.

There are often solutions to overcoming infrastructure constraints.  A new school or community centre can be built; open space or play equipment can be provided; and increased traffic congestion can be addressed through new public transport schemes and highway improvements.

So if the council cannot fully meet its objectively assessed housing need, it must establish a strong case of constraint to development within the borough, and demonstrate that neighbouring authorities have fewer constraints.

Sustainability Appraisal and Testing of Development Options

Consultants URS have been commissioned to prepare the sustainability appraisal (SA) for the local plan.  The production of an SA is required under EU regulations and planning law, and it is an appraisal of the economic, environmental, and social effects of a plan (and its policies) from the outset of the plan preparation process.  An SA is an iterative process that allows decisions to be made that accord with sustainable development.

A key purpose of the SA is to appraise development options for the local plan. The emerging Maidstone Borough Local Plan has a strategy of directing development to the most sustainable locations, in particular making best use of previously developed land (brownfield sites).  Brownfield sites within an urban area have access to existing infrastructure and can generally be developed at higher densities, thus reducing the need to release greenfield sites for development.  This approach accords with the principles of the NPPF and the aims of this council.  Regeneration of the town centre is one of the key objectives of the local plan, and every effort has been made to identify potential redevelopment sites over and above those that were submitted through the SHLAA call for sites in December 2013/January 2014.  Local plan policies encourage a regeneration approach through the allocation of brownfield sites for redevelopment and by requiring a lower affordable housing contribution on brownfield sites within the urban area in order to encourage regeneration.

In the past 10 years, a high percentage of development has been built on brownfield sites (between 85% and 96% annually).  This was a result of introducing a moratorium on the release of greenfield land allocated in the Maidstone Borough Wide Local Plan (2000) following the publication of an urban capacity study in 2002.  This trend cannot be sustained and the moratorium has been lifted to enable the council to meet short and long term housing provisions.  The need for greenfield sites is compounded by national policies that are leading to considerably higher annual housing targets than previously experienced.  New homes are needed because of a growing population, people are living longer and there are more elderly people in smaller households, new jobs are being created and, over the past decade, there has generally been a level of net in-migration into the borough (both internal migration from other parts of the Country and international migration).

There is a clear hierarchy in determining which locations are the most sustainable for allocating new development sites.  Following the redevelopment of brownfield sites within settlement boundaries, the most sustainable location for greenfield development is adjacent to the currently defined[8] urban boundary, where access to services is greatest and best use can be made of existing infrastructure.  However, not all development needs can be accommodated here because of environmental and infrastructure constraints.  Seven rural service centres form the second tier in Maidstone’s settlement hierarchy.  These centres act as a focal point for trade and services for wider communities, providing a concentration of public transport, employment and community facilities.  Rural service centres are Maidstone’s most sustainable villages and are able to accommodate further development.  Three larger settlements form the third tier of the settlement hierarchy.  These villages have a smaller range of services than rural service centres, but still meet the day-to-day needs of local communities.  Where appropriate, larger settlements can accommodate some limited development.

The SA is appraising various options that follow the settlement hierarchy, and is also assessing the impact of the Golding Homes’ proposal for a new settlement[9], which was submitted during the call for sites.  The SA will appraise three targets for housing: 19,600 dwellings (objectively assessed need), 17,100 dwellings (draft capacity to date including broad locations for development), and 14,100 dwellings (draft capacity to date excluding broad locations for development).  The SA will also appraise these targets against the various distribution options for development: a dispersed pattern of development, with and without broad locations for development and/or the new settlement.  This will compare a strategy of development dispersal with one of a new settlement together with a reduced dispersal of development.  These options will be tested against their ability to deliver the objectively assessed need for housing, but will be balanced by sustainability indicators including flooding, health, poverty, education, congestion, climate change, biodiversity, countryside, heritage, waste, energy and economy.

The results of the appraisal will be available prior to the February reports when Members will consider the housing target and distribution pattern of development.

Employment Land Forecast

An updated employment land forecast has been prepared as evidence for the local plan, which will replace the employment forecast published in 2013 that was based on housing provisions of 14,800 dwellings.  The new forecast uses a different methodology than previous for a number of reasons, not least to enable economic growth opportunities to be assessed objectively and then used to inform the housing growth discussion.  The forecast has been produced by the consultancy firm GVA which has undertaken such forecasting work for the council in the past.

The approach used in this forecast looks first at the different sectors in the local economy and establishes which sectors are projected to grow or contract (in terms of jobs), and by what percentage, over the lifetime of the plan.  The basis for this assessment is the nationally recognised Experian forecast for the borough.  This has then been refined where more detailed local factors support a higher or lower growth rate than is predicted by Experian, which provides a more strategic analysis of the economy.  In particular, the forecast has taken account of potential employment growth at the medical campus proposed at junction 7 of the M20; an allowance has been made for market “churn”, calculated from the average annual construction rate of space within the borough; and the impact of changing working practices by sectoral activity in the borough has been appraised.  The output of this sectoral analysis is an employment (jobs) forecast for all of the sectors in the local economy.

This jobs forecast is then converted into a land requirement for those sectors which will need new office, industrial or distribution/ warehousing floorspace for the full local plan period 2011 to 2031 (i.e. the B use classes).  The creation of a total of 14,394 jobs between 2011 and 2031 are forecast across all employment sectors, of which 7,933 will be in the office, industrial and warehousing based sectors and at the Maidstone medical campus, including KIMS[10].  Total figures in the table below vary due to rounding.

The council’s ability to meet its employment provisions through new land allocations, together with the distribution of development, will be given consideration by Members through the February reports.

Retail Capacity Study

Members have received a presentation on the Maidstone Town Centre Assessment and the Retail Capacity Study, produced by consultants DTZ, and both documents have been published on the local plan webpage.  At its meeting on 4 December 2014, Cabinet approved the retail provisions set out in the appended policies to that report.  Two retail allocations at Maidstone East/Royal Mail Sorting Office and Newnham Park were approved, and the Mall was identified as a future broad location for retail growth.

The Maidstone Retail Capacity Study assessed the quantitative needs for retail development to 2031.  The RECAP model was used in forecasting: an empirical step-by-step model based on the results of the 2012 Maidstone Household Survey of shopping patterns as its method of allocating retail expenditure from catchment zones to shopping destinations. The model is therefore based on consumer responses about actual shopping patterns.

The Retail Capacity Study was based on an interim provision of 14,800 dwellings.  The consultants have considered the outputs in the context of increased provisions, and concluded that the population forecasts used for the purpose of the Maidstone Retail Capacity Study are consistent with a provision for 17,100 dwellings.  For information and completeness, the retail provisions are reproduced below.  The provisions are cumulative for each year.

Key Local Issues, Spatial Vision and Spatial Objectives

The challenge for the local plan is to manage the potential impacts of future housing and employment growth, together with supporting infrastructure, to ensure that development takes place in a sustainable manner that supports the local economy whilst safeguarding valuable natural and built assets.  The borough’s key local issues were initially identified in the Core Strategy[11], and the same document set out the council’s spatial vision and spatial objectives for the borough.  These have been updated to ensure conformity with changing government policy and the publication of the NPPF and subsequent guidance, and to reflect any changes in local circumstances.

Revisions to the key local issues set out in the Core Strategy 2011 are set out below (deletions are shown in strike through text and additions in italic text).  The revisions will be carried forward to the Maidstone Borough Local Plan for further public consultation (Regulation 18) following Member decisions on the plan in February.

Key Local Issues

1.   Where, when and how much development will be distributed throughout the borough;

2.   Maintenance of the distinct character and identity of villages and the urban area;

3.   Protection of the built and natural heritage, including the Kent Downs AONB and its setting and areas of local landscape value;

4.   Provision of strategic and local infrastructure to support new development and growth including a sustainable integrated transport strategy, adequate water supply, sustainable waste management, energy infrastructure and social infrastructure such as health, schools and other educational facilities;

5.   Improvements to quality of air within the air quality management area (AQMA);

6.   Regeneration of the town centre and areas of social and environmental deprivation;

7.   Redressing the low wage economy by expanding the employment skills base to target employment opportunities and improving higher and further education opportunities to target employment opportunities in green technologies including low carbon energy production;

8.   Meeting housing needs by delivering of vulnerable groups including young people, affordable housing, local needs housing, accommodation for the elderly, accommodation to meet Gypsy and Traveller needs and accommodation to meet rural housing needs;

9.   Promotion of the multi-functional nature of the borough’s open spaces, rivers and other watercourses;

10. Ensuring that all new development is built to a high standard of sustainable design and construction; and

11.   Ensuring that applications for development adequately address the impact of climate change, especially the issues of flooding and water supply.

The Maidstone Borough Local Plan is the spatial interpretation of the vision and priorities set out in the Maidstone Community Strategy[12].  The local plan also has regard to other corporate documents, in particular the Strategic Plan 2011-2015 (2013-2014 Refresh), the emerging Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy and the Housing Strategy 2011/12 to 2014/15.  Spatial Policy officers work closely with colleagues in these departments and also with other departments such as Development Management, Economic Development, and Environmental Health.  The policies of the local plan aim to deliver the plan’s vision and objectives.

Revisions to the spatial vision and objectives set out in the Core Strategy 2011 are set out below (deletions are shown in strike through text and additions in italic text).  The revisions will be carried forward to the Maidstone Borough Local Plan for further public consultation (Regulation 18) following Member decisions on the plan in February.

Spatial Vision

By 2026 2031:

·  The Core Strategy Maidstone Borough Local Plan will deliver sustainable growth and regeneration whilst protecting and enhancing the borough’s natural and built assets;

·  Development will be guided by a sustainable and the delivery of the integrated transport strategy together with the timely provision of appropriate strategic and local infrastructure;

·  Maidstone town will be a an enhanced vibrant, prosperous and sustainable community benefiting from its an exceptional urban and rural environment with a vital and viable Maidstone town centre

·  The character and identity of rural settlements will be maintained roles of the rural service centres will be reinforced by directing suitable development and supporting infrastructure to the rural service centres of Coxheath, Harrietsham, Headcorn, Lenham, Marden, and Staplehurst and Yalding;

·  The roles of the larger rural settlements of Boughton Monchelsea, Eyhorne Street (Hollingbourne) and Sutton Valence will be maintained through the delivery of limited development, where appropriate, together with supporting infrastructure;

·  The distinctive character of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and its setting, together with the openness of the Metropolitan Green Belt, will be rigorously protected and maintained;

·  Employment skills will be expanded to meet an improved and varied range of local jobs;

·  There will be a better balanced housing market to meet the needs of the community across the whole borough; and

·  Development will be of high quality sustainable design and construction to respond to climate change and to protect the environment.

  Spatial Objectives

1. To provide for 10,080 new homes and 10,000 new jobs a balance of new homes and related retail and employment opportunities, with an emphasis on increasing skilled employment opportunities in the borough alongside developing learning opportunities.

2. To focus new development mainly within the Maidstone urban area with:

i. 80% of new housing built within and adjacent to the urban area of Maidstone with appropriate sustainable greenfield development being well located in relation to existing services in the urban area Principally within[13] the Maidstone urban area and at the strategic development locations at the edge of town, including junction 7 of the M20 motorway;

ii. The aim of providing 60% of new housing across the plan period on previously developed land and through the conversion of existing buildings

ii.New employment land allocations to be exploited in Maidstone

Town Centre first co-ordinated with opportunities on the most suitable greenfield sites to provide for a suitable mix of employment opportunitiesTo a lesser extent at the seven rural service centres of Coxheath, Harrietsham, Headcorn, Lenham, Marden, Staplehurst and Yalding[14] consistent with their range of services and role; and

iii.The creation of opportunities to provide for local power generation Limited development at the three larger settlements of Boughton Monchelsea, Eyhorne Street (Hollingbourne) and Sutton Valence where appropriate.

3. To transform the offer, vitality and viability of the Maidstone town centre including its office, retail, residential, further and higher education, leisure, cultural and tourism functions together with significant enhancement of its public realm and to the natural and built environment particularly in respect of including the riverside environment.

4. To consolidate reinforce the roles of the rural service centres through the retention of existing services, the addition of new infrastructure where possible, and the regeneration of employment sites at Harrietsham, Headcorn, Lenham, Marden and Staplehurst as the focus of the network of rural settlements with retained existing services and regenerated employment sites including the expansion of existing employment sites where appropriate.

5. To support new housing in the smaller villages that meet local needs and is of a design, scale, character and location appropriate to the settlement and which supports the retention of existing services and facilities.

6. To safeguard and maintain the character of the district’s borough’s landscapes including the Kent Downs AONB and other distinctive local landscapes of local value whilst facilitating the economic and social well-being of these areas, including the diversification of the rural economy.

7. To retain and enhance the character of the existing green and blue infrastructure and to promote linkages between areas of environmental value.

8. To ensure that new development takes account of the need to mitigate the impacts of climate change, implementing sustainable construction standards for both residential and non-residential schemes. and adapt to climate change and also to improve air quality by locating development to minimise the use of resources, to promote sustainable travel patterns, to develop a greater choice of transport measures, to support water and energy efficiency measures and to encourage renewable energy sources and sustainable drainage solutions.

9. To ensure that new development is of high quality design, making a positive contribution to the area including protection of built and natural heritage and biodiversity.

10. To provide for future housing that meets the changing needs of the

borough’s population including provision for an increasingly ageing population and family housing, an appropriate tenure mix, affordable housing, and accommodation to meet the needs of the local Gypsy and Traveller community.

11. To ensure that key infrastructure and service improvements needed to support delivery of the Core Strategy Maidstone Borough Local Plan objectives and policies are brought forward in a coordinated and timely manner, and that new development makes an appropriate contribution towards the infrastructure needs arising as a result of such new development.

The need (or otherwise) for junction 8 of the M20 motorway to assist in delivering the borough’s employment requirements will be given consideration by Members in February.  This may result in an amendment to objective 2(i).

Following the decision to defer Policies SP3 and SP4, Cabinet felt it appropriate to agree the spatial vision and objectives, as amended, subject to amendments being required following the further consideration of these policies as they impact on the designation of Coxheath and Yalding as Rural Service Centres and the designation of Larger Settlements.

The key decision arising from the report of the Head of Planning and Development is the agreement of the borough’s objectively assessed need of 19,600 dwellings.  The NPPF aims to significantly boost the supply of housing land and the basis for calculating a borough’s housing need is the most up-to-date Office for National Statistics data releases and CLG trend based population and household projections.  The SHMA takes account of the latest national demographic data and has examined local factors such as migration patterns, household formation and vacancy rates.  The next step is for the local authority to use its evidence base to demonstrate how (and if) it can fully meet objectively assessed need through the SHLAA, constraints mapping, infrastructure assessments and sustainability appraisal.  To reject the objectively assessed need of 19,600 dwellings would result in the local plan being found unsound at examination.