Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Development Plan Document

Disagree

I object to the proposed Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Show people DPD for the following reasons. According to your planning document Maidstone Borough has the highest traveller population by local authority across England and Wales. Maidstone traveller community comprised 5.74% of the population, and could actually be higher owing to the reluctance of the traveller community to disclose their ethnicity, against the national average of 1.06% Given the the disparity between the current traveller population in Maidstone borough and the national average there is a strong argument that Maidstone is already providing significantly more sites per head of population than other local authorities and the argument to provide an even greater proportion is weak as well as being unfair to the settled population. According to your report the proposed increase in the provision of sites is based on 350 verbal interviews with members of the traveller community and along with seeking to predict demand to 2040. This amounts to little more than crystal ball gazing and not to be relied on in any meaningful way to predict future demand. Turing to the proposed site at Water Lane (Ref. C4S (008) I object to the use of this site for the following reasons. The site is some distance from local amenities for example, Roseacre School is a 30 minute walk from the site. The site is within the North Downs National Landscape the visual impact of the site would be harmful to the character of this nationally important landscape. The site contains oak trees subject to a Tree Preservation Order which is the official recognition of their importance to amenity and contribution to the character of the protected landscape. The sad reality is that the proposed development is fundamentally at odds with the preservation of these trees. Water Lane is a narrow single carriageway country lane unsuited to increased traffic levels and particularly commercial vehicle traffic that is associated with traveller sites.