Issue - meetings

a)  That the draft Maidstone Borough Local Plan, as attached at Appendix A to the report of the Head of Planning and Development, be approved for public consultation (Regulation 18) subject to:-

i)  The deletion of the following housing sites:-

   H1(18) Cross Keys, Bearsted
    H1(19) Fant Farm, Maidstone
    H1(51) Cripple Street, Loose
    H1(58) Ware Street, Thurnham

ii)  That Yalding and Coxheath be reclassified as larger villages;

iii)  That paragraph 14.10 be revised to reflect the top priority for

  Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) resources being transport;

iv)  That paragraph 1 of SP5 be amended to read “Provided proposals do not harm the character…..”;

v)  That under H1(7) paragraph 13, v. be amended to read “widening Gore Court Road to a suitable width to accommodate contra-flow traffic and a footway on the eastern side of the carriageway between White Horse Lane and the access into the north of Sutton Road site” and this be repeated in each of the site allocation policies for the South East sites, as well as the removal of paragraph 11 from H1(7);

vi)  That H1(17) be amended to include a landscaping and buffer zone to protect the amenity of residents to the South and to retain the character of the lane itself as a country lane; and

vii)  That paragraph 11 of Key Local Issues (top of Page 9 of the Local Plan) be amended to read:-

“Ensuring that applications for development adequately address:-

(a) the impact of climate change;

(b) the issues of flooding and water supply; and

(c) ensure dependable infrastructure is included for the removal

  of sewage and waste water”

b)  That further transport modelling will be undertaken in the near future be noted;

c)  That the designation of land at Junction 8 of the M20 motorway as a strategic location for employment use be rejected;

d)  That a further call for housing sites and sites for Gypsy and Traveller pitches, as part of the public consultation on the Maidstone Borough Local Plan, a review of the currently rejected housing sites and further consideration of additional housing in the town centre, be agreed;

e)  That the recommendations set out in the Urgent Update circulated at the meeting be agreed; and

f)  That the responses to the SCRAIP (attached as Appendix A) be agreed.

DECISION MADE:

a)  That the draft Maidstone Borough Local Plan, as attached at Appendix A to the report of the Head of Planning and Development, be approved for public consultation (Regulation 18) subject to:-

i)  The deletion of the following housing sites:-

   H1(18) Cross Keys, Bearsted
    H1(19) Fant Farm, Maidstone
    H1(51) Cripple Street, Loose
    H1(58) Ware Street, Thurnham

ii)  That Yalding and Coxheath be reclassified as larger villages;

iii)  That paragraph 14.10 be revised to reflect the top priority for

  Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) resources being transport;

iv)  That paragraph 1 of SP5 be amended to read “Provided proposals do not harm the character…..”;

v)  That under H1(7) paragraph 13, v. be amended to read “widening Gore Court Road to a suitable width to accommodate contra-flow traffic and a footway on the eastern side of the carriageway between White Horse Lane and the access into the north of Sutton Road site” and this be repeated in each of the site allocation policies for the South East sites, as well as the removal of paragraph 11 from H1(7);

vi)  That H1(17) be amended to include a landscaping and buffer zone to protect the amenity of residents to the South and to retain the character of the lane itself as a country lane; and

vii)  That paragraph 11 of Key Local Issues (top of Page 9 of the Local Plan) be amended to read:-

“Ensuring that applications for development adequately address:-

(a) the impact of climate change;

(b) the issues of flooding and water supply; and

(c) ensure dependable infrastructure is included for the removal

  of sewage and waste water”

b)  That further transport modelling will be undertaken in the near future be noted;

c)  That the designation of land at Junction 8 of the M20 motorway as a strategic location for employment use be rejected;

d)  That a further call for housing sites and sites for Gypsy and Traveller pitches, as part of the public consultation on the Maidstone Borough Local Plan, a review of the currently rejected housing sites and further consideration of additional housing in the town centre be agreed;

e)  That the recommendations set out in the Urgent Update circulated at the meeting be agreed; and

f)  That the responses to the SCRAIP (attached as Appendix A) be agreed.

For further information regarding this Decision, please click here:-
http://services.maidstone.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=799

Interviews with Rob Jarman, Head of Planning and Development; Sarah Anderton, Principal Planning Officer; Michael Murphy, Principal Planning Officer; and Emma Boshell, Planning Officer

Rob Jarman, Head of Planning and Development, Michael Murphy, Principal Planning Officer (Spatial Policy) and Sarah Anderton, Principal Planning Officer were invited to introduce item 8:- Maidstone Borough Local Plan Public Consultation Draft (Regulation18).

Rob Jarman began by putting the document into context stating that it had been 16 years since the last detailed Local Plan for Maidstone Borough with detailed recommendations on housing sites was had been prepared.

Mr Jarman explained the process the document will go through before it is adopted by the Council:

·  The Planning, Transport and Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee consider if the draft Local Plan is ready to go out for public consultation and make recommendations to Cabinet on the contents

·  Cabinet approve the draft Local Plan for public consultation under Regulation 18

·  The draft Local Plan is finalised under Regulation 19

·  The draft Local Plan is submitted to the Secretary of State ahead of an examination by an independent planning inspector.

Mr Jarman also pointed out to the Committee two additional documents:

·  Letter from Councillor Jenni Paterson outlining items in the plan she considered to be of concern – H3(2) Maidstone Barracks, H1(11) Springfield/Mill Lane, Maidstone and RMX1(2) Maidstone East/Sorting Office.

·  Urgent Update Report with details of updates to the draft Local Plan including:

o  Housing Allocations

o  Transport

o  Flood Mitigation

o  Policy H3 – Future locations for housing growth

o  Policy SP4 – Larger Settlements

o  Policy DM30 – Development principles in the countryside

o  Representations already received on the draft Local Plan

Mr Jarman explained this Committee and Cabinet had already considered and agreed a number of elements of the draft Local Plan at meetings over the past six months.  He then outlined the items for discussion and agreement for recommendation to Cabinet for approval.

These included:

Key elements of Policy SS1 (pages 50-58):

·  An initial draft housing supply target of 17,100 new dwellings for 2011-31

·  Employment floor space requirements for 2011-31 of 39,830sqm offices, 20,290sqm industrial and 49,911sqm warehousing

·  Dispersed pattern of housing and employment development with Maidstone as the primary focus for new development – with further development directed to the identified rural service centres and limited focus to the identified larger settlements

Policy SP3 (pages 70-75) – seven rural services centres (from five).

Policy SP4 (pages 70-75) – 3 larger settlements.

48 new housing allocations resulting from the Strategic Housing and Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) assessment (Policy H1) referred to on the large scale plans provided to the Committee at the meeting shown in green marked ‘H’, and East of Hermitage Lane – capacity reduced from 600 to 500 dwellings to exclude the southern field (pages 82-86).

Policy H2 (pages 86-87) – density of housing development.

Policy H3 (pages 87-88) broad locations for housing growth for the later end of the plan period (2026).

Policy RMX1 (pages 89-93) a further three sites for retail/mixed use.

Policy EMP1 (pages 94-95) four sites for B class employment.

Policy GT1 (pages 96-97) seven sites for Gypsy and Traveller accommodation.

Policy  ...  view the full minutes text for item 102