Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Development Plan Document

Disagree

1. We endorse and support the Bearsted and Thurnham Society’s comments relating to the unsuitability of Water Lane as access. Please treat this comment as repeating them. 2. Roundwell/The Street/Ware Street/Bearsted Road ("Bearsted Road") is signposted as being unsuitable for lorries, with signs being at the junction of the A20 and the roundabout at New Cut. UK law permits static caravans up to 20m long and 6.8m wide. Static caravans are transported on low loaders. If this road is unsuitable for ordinary lorries, then it must be unsuitable for low loaders, which are much larger than lorries, transporting static caravans. 3. Whilst it could be argued that Bearsted Road is wide enough to accommodate smaller low loaders, the reality is that it is physically impossible for them to get to and turn into Water Lane because of vehicles lawfully parked in Bearsted Road. The Maidstone Borough Council has formally designated lengths of the road as parking for residents who have no off-road parking and for people using local shops. It would be an unconscionable act of the Council to remove those parking facilities just to allow low loaders access to this site. 4. The cars parked in Bearsted Road also provide vital and necessary traffic calming which slows down vehicles going through the village. Preventing residents from parking would result in increased traffic speed through the village, increasing the danger and noise for residents. 5. The lanes from the north down Water Lane from Pilgrims Way cannot meet required standards of access to the site. Those lanes are not physically wide enough to allow passage of low loaders carrying static caravans. 6. We are also concerned that caravans on this site would result in overloading local services, particularly drainage.