Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Development Plan Document
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New searchMaidstone already has a much higher proportion of traveller communities within its boundaries than other areas of the UK. using this basis to calculate future requirements is inappropriate and is putting more pressure on the already significant pressure of housing in the local plan and ruining the rural nature of our area. The figures should be recalculated downwards to reflect current national figures rather than the unstatistic spike of Maidstone district.
Requirements are too high based on historical figures and should be reduced in line with with national averages not historcal norms.
I don't agree that there should be a growth measure included within this policy. It is just attracting others from outside of Maidstone tto move here.
No answer given
No answer given
Maidstone Borough and indeed has a higher proprtion of traveller population than many parts of the country, the numbers should be frozen and sites developed in other parts of the country to spread the population to other areas.
Reference: Sites submitted by landowners. 'The Brishings', Green Lane, Langley Kent (Otherwise known as land to the east of Green Lane, Langley in previous applications.) Reference No. C4S-017. I wish to comment on the above consultation with specific reference to the site included in the consultation mentioned above. I will comment on the consultation process under a separate communication using the on-line questionnaire. At a recent Langley village community meeting attended by around 100 residents, information regarding the consultation was discussed and the consensus was that residents view was to request that Maidstone Borough Council remove the above site from the list of possible sites as being unsuitable for this application. Below I give the reasons I believe this site is unsuitable for use as a site for use as suggested for travellers & traveling show people and using the criteria included in your consultation documentation. History of rejected planning applications Previous planning applications for development of this land have been rejected for similar reasons and I see no reason why this consultation show determine any different conclusion. The most recent planning application within the parish for a single property, namely 24/500116/FULL only last year was rejected by Maidstone Borough Council Planning and also at appeal by The Planning Inspectorate should give you sufficient confidence to withdraw this land as unsuitable for inclusion in your list of sites. Key phases in the Inspectorate letter for refusal are that 'Langley Heath is not a 'defined settlement' and it does not have the facilities and services you would expect in a sustainable location, for example a school or convenience store' & that further development of the village area is not included within the MBC Local Plan. This refers to the settlement of Langley Heath covering the land east of Green Lane the owner seeks to call the brishings. MBC Planners in their appeal documentation made further detailed comments regarding the nature of the settlement known as Langley Heath which should be studied in detail by yourselves to offer you guidance in removing this site from your list as an unsuitable site. For your reference previous failed applications for this land in the years 2014,2015,2016: 14/0545, 15/501183/OUT, 16/505995/OUT available for reference in MBC Planning Portal. Previous applications for years prior to this are not available on this portal, but should be referenced as evidence of consistency in MBC planners approach to the speculative nature of applications for this land. Local Services The site is in located in "Langley Heath' which is geographically separate from the traditional village centred on either side of the A274 Sutton Road. There are no services whatsoever within this part of the village, with the exception of a single GP oversubscribed Doctor's surgery as noted in a recent planning refusal by MBC planners. There are no primary schools within 3 kilometres nor secondary schools within 5 kilometres. The nearest supermarket (in Langley Park, being in the parish of Boughton Monchelsea NOT Langley) is 30 minutes and3.08 Kilometres walk from the site. There are no businesses, employers nor employment prospects within the village. Transport links Bus services operated by Nuventure within this part of the village are limited to 5 days per week and dos not operate at weekends nor bank holidays. The main bus route via the A274 Sutton Road is well in excess of 800 metres distance from the site a walk of nearly 10 minutes. Access to this site is extremely problematic. Green Lane having been rejected as a suitable access due to the width and access to Leeds Road from the south and via Shepherds Way and Heath Road and past planning applications as well as Leeds Road being unsuitable on safety grounds. Landscape features/ Character The land is high quality grade 2 agricultural land and historically within my lifetime, been used to grow soft fruit and vegetables. Adjacent fields are currently under high intensity productive agricultural use operated by a highly respected nursery grower of ornamental trees, bushes and speciality roses selling nationally and in international markets. The site straddles two entirely separate communities one of a historical isolated hamlet previously associated with Sutton Valance and a more modern main community of Langley Heath. Responses to previous planning applications by the local authority have identified this and emphasised the importance of maintaining the nature of isolated hamlet being outside the village boundary, containing three historically significant grade two listed sites amongst the domiciles (Ye Old Cottage & The Old Farm House both in Green Lane and Red Pit Barn adjacent to the east of the land on Leeds Road.) The nature of the village overall is a 'rural dormitory village' with residents either living in the village and working elsewhere or in retirement. Overall, over 50% of residents are retired and in the proposed site boundary, over 90% are retired with quite a number of single vulnerable adults in this category. On the timescale of this consultation and decision-making process, the majority of properties surrounding the proposed site will in their 70's and a large proportion in classed as vulnerable in their 80's. The cumulative effect of the offered site to locate 20 caravans would be to destroy the rural nature of the area, dominate the immediate area, coalesce a rurally isolated historical hamlet located in Green Lane and completely change its setting. The Site & Landscape Characteristics It is incorrect for the landowner to say that the site is flat. This is not the case. The land drops way from the south west to north east by around 5 metres and generally north to south by a similar amount. It is to be determined whether power water & sewage is available on site not existing as stated by the landowner. Green Lane has restricted water & sewage capacity as it was laid down in Victorian times. The site is bounded to the north by a stream fed from springs within the field as well as from Kingwood & Abbey woods eventually leading into Langley Lochs and then into the Len & Medway. This stream does flood back from culverts into the field during periods of high rainfall and flooding into the B2163 Leeds Road has been recorded and documented by a resident of Leeds Road in a consultation into a previously refused planning application for this site. (Planning application 15/501183/OUT Young 24/3/15) of an episode of flooding onLeeds Road (2014/15) in exactly the same area as the proposed access to the application. Whatever the numbers say, the photographic evidence from a now retired MBC councillor shows clearly this is an area at risk of flooding. The site is bounded on all sides by existing rural style properties which would not be suitable for the proposed utilisation of the site. The result being that travellers would be 'hemmed in' by existing properties. In discussion with local authority Community Wardens and PCSO's who have significant experience in dealing with travellers & traveling show-people explained that they have their own community and have no desire to integrate into other communities, thus endeavouring to locate a site of this nature within an existing community would not be a suitable scheme. Any attempt to manipulate a change in this would demonstrate an attempt by MBC at social engineering which I believe in this case is beyond their remit. Site Access, access to primary road networks The current agricultural field originally had one access which was at the south west corner of the field in Green Lane, this has been changed by the landowner to further down the lane. Green Lane is a single-track lane with no passing places and no footpaths and is an unrestricted speed limit only suitable for domestic traffic. The only other accesses in the lane are for residential vehicle and foot access on the road with no footpath. The access to this land from Green Lane in previous applications has been rejected as unsuitable being narrow single track with no passing places and restricted access to the lane from each end. Access from the south end of Green Lane is narrow with very poor sight lines and has a very poor safety record with one fatality in recent times. Similarly, the only other access to Leeds Road being via Shepherds Way having permanent resident on street parking, then into Heath Road to a cross roads locally known as 'The Four Wents'. This crossroads has a very poor road safety record with collisions reported regularly, the most recent being a local authority recycling lorry ending up in a residents garden. In a previous application, consideration has been made for vehicle and pedestrian access from creating a new access into the B2163 Leeds Road. There are no footpaths and no land facility to add a footpath on the site side of Leeds Road and traffic movements make it hazardous to exit as a pedestrian from the site. Vehicle access would also hazardous due to speed and volume of traffic and especially sight lines (highlighted in detail a previous objection to a planning application) in both directions making access and egress from any created access to be an accident blackspot. Sites of this nature carry additional hazards with LPG gas containers, lightweight structures and storage of show equipment giving a higher-than-normal hazard risk of fire. Access to the site via Green Lane for emergency vehicles will be problematical due to the nature of the access streets and lanes bounding the site. Overdevelopment of village Langley & Langley Heath is a rural village with a significant agricultural heritage and over the years developed as a dormitory location for older generations. To sustain the agricultural activity, significant investment has been made by farmers to make their businesses sustainable. To this end, a number of caravan sites have been established to house workers, these now number around 450 caravans in two areas around the parish within 1 kilometre of the proposed site (owners Chambers Oakdene & Charlton Rumwood Farm.) To addfurther temporary buildings to a new site, would over run the village in that in excess of 50% of accommodation in or adjacent to the parish would be temporary homes completely dominating the nature of the village. In conclusion access to this proposed site in any form with any mitigation would make it totally unsuitable for the suggested application for the reasons stated above especially on the basis of road access and pedestrian safety and should be removed from consideration as one of the sites submitted in this consultation exercise.
