Heathlands Garden Settlement SPD

Object

Representation ID: 299

Received: 06/12/2025

Respondent: Maidstone Borough Council

The Monitor and manage approach to traffic is not acceptable. The development will generate a lot of car journeys and will impact all roads in the vicinity. Better proposals for improvements to existing roads should be planned from the first phase. The wait and see approach is totally unacceptable.

Objection noted.
The National Planning Policy Framework requires developments to adopt a vision led approach to transport that can be assessed and monitored over time.
The SPD sets out additional guidance on the approach to transport assessment and mitigation (Chapter 8) and the accompanying SPD Transport Assessment provides a wider overview of national policy and guidance, issues and impacts, and the approach to mentoring and review. This material has been agreed between Maidstone Borough Council, Kent County Council and National Highways.
The detailed design of transport mitigation measures will need to be set out as part of the formulation and consideration of future planning applications.

Object

Representation ID: 300

Received: 06/12/2025

Respondent: Maidstone Borough Council

Stop assuming residents will spend all their time within the development. This will just not happen. Trips to visit family and friends, days out, holidays to name a few will cause residents to leave Heathlands and use the local roads. Highways improvements should be planned for from day one.

Objection noted.
Additional commentary has been added to Chapter 3.3: Constraints Opportunities to acknowledge wider impacts across adjacent areas.
Figure 18: Infrastructure Requirements as per the Local Plan Review acknowledges the need for necessary off-site highway mitigation.
Chapter 8 of the SPD sets out the required approach to assess and consider transport impacts of proposals, and establish appropriate mitigation measures.
The detailed design of transport mitigation measures will need to be set out as part of the formulation and consideration of future planning applications.

Object

Representation ID: 301

Received: 06/12/2025

Respondent: Maidstone Borough Council

The document is more like a developers sales brochure than a planning document. It is too long for many people to bother to properly read. A bit too much wishful thinking that car use will be minimised. Stronger emphasis on traffic impact on the surrounding area is needed.
The document should be more concise with policy type layout like the NPPF or LocalPlan without all the pretty pictures!

Objection noted.
Officers consider it important for the SPD to set out this additional guidance to enable future planning applications to address the full range of issues.