Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Development Plan Document

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I am contacting you regarding Maidstone Borough Council proposed plan for a Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Show people site. ( Site Ref: C45 (008) ) Water Lane is a very narrow country lane, with no footpath or street lighting making it unsafe for regular pedestrian use. It is already a very busy road when used by local people and is made significant worse is there are traffic issues on the A20 and M20 when a constant stream of traffic uses it as an alternative route along the Pilgrims Way. This can cause prolonged grid lock in Water Lane and the surrounding area. Development of this site will inevitably increase the number of vehicles regularly using Water Lane and can only exacerbate an already difficult situation. There are many natural springs that emerge from the fields alongside Water Lane which cause regular flooding as the volume of water accumulates towards Bearsted. In periods of cold weather this water freezes making the roads extremely treacherous and sometimes impassable. I am also concerned that there could be compliance issues when controlling the number of occupants on this site and the potential impact on the environment and landscape in an area of natural beauty that we are supposed to be protecting. Historically planning applications for Land North of the railway have consistently been refused by MBC and this leaves me wondering what has changed for you to be considering such a large development.