Weak Planning Policy

Cllr’s Harwood and English (LibDem) frequently refer to the inadequacy of our Planning Policy and they are quite right in this because it is weak and frequently ineffectual. However they are of course more shy when it comes to pointing out that it was produced under the leadership of the LibDems back in 2000.
At the last full council meeting Cllr English in response to a direct question over who was responsible for this state of affairs, admitted the Local Plan (the planning policy) was not robust and blamed what he called a ‘rogue’ planning inspector for the inadequacies and to quote “their [the LibDems] only mistake was not having stood up to him”.
Beyond this he intimated that advice given at the time, was that the policy would be sufficiently robust, however he declined to say by whom exactly. We can only hope they do not take the same advice this time over the new planning policy, the LDF.
If we think back over the last 7 years at the various developments across the Borough, how different would Maidstone now be if the LibDems had stood up to the inspector and ensured a robust local planning policy?

‘Housing numbers game is up,’ says KCC Leader

Kent County Council Leader Paul Carter says the Government’s housing numbers game is up.

The Government’s Planning Inspectors report has been published, recommending 32,000 new homes across the south east region every year for the next 20 years,

Mr Carter said:
“County council leaders across the south east region fought very hard to contain housing growth within acceptable levels. The planning inspectors’ report published today is suggesting an additional 10 per cent of homes across the south east region. I am relieved that for Kent they are recommending a slight increase of only three per cent.

“The big issue will now be how the Government responds to the inspectors’ report. The government have already indicated that they will be demanding substantial increases over and above current regional proposals, this concerns me greatly.

“Kent will already struggle with current plans, for example, brownfield sites are running out, we have the prospect of flooding and much of our highways infrastructure is already overloaded.

“Unless the Government massively increases infrastructure investment the idea of an additional 20% more homes on the 6,500 proposed is outrageous.

For copies of the inspectors’ report, go online to www.gose.gov.uk/gose/planning/regionalPlanning/?a=42496

KCC News Release Ref No: 616/07 29 August 2007

For further information contact Philip Scrivener at Kent County Council Press Office on 01622 694013 or email phil.scrivener@kent.gov.uk
More news releases are available online at www.kent.gov.uk/news

Maidstone residents send Tesco packing

After 9 year Tesco have given up on their plan to build a supermarket on the land behind the Maidstone Fire Station on the Loose Road. Many hundreds of residents got together to campaign against the Tesco proposal, forming the North Loose Residents Association (NRLA) in the process.
The land has now been sold to the property developer Talyor Wimpey, a merger between Taylor Woodrow and Wimpey. The site already has out line planning permission for residential development.

Park ‘N’ Ride site set to become housing

At the Town Hall council meeting on Wednesday 25th July there was no attempt to deny that “the current administrations’ plan, is now to sell the site for re-development”

So what will the proceeds be spent on?
When pushed to agree that “any resultant capital receipt from such a sale is invested in sustainable transport for the SOUTH of Maidstone, where the facilities have been lost and the funds generated”, the Cabinet Member for the Environment declined to agree to push for this, saying that funds could not be ring fenced for the south and would have to go in to funds for the borough as a whole.
Interestingly passing reference was made to his interest in [improvements to] the northern approach (A229). Cllr Harwood just happens to represent North Ward which is bisected by the A229.

The Cabinet member did however promise that pavement alterations in the area of the Armstrong Road, to allow access to non-low floor buses would be in place before the closure of the service on the 3rd Sept. He had no answer as to exactly where they would be, so it remains to be seen just how accessible the chosen site will be for those who had relied on the Park ‘N’ Ride buses.

Immigration Figures Released

The Department of Work and Pensions has revealed that it issued 713,000 new National Insurance numbers in the last year to foreign workers, with over 2.5m since 2002.
These figures obviously only include those who are here legally, with the government being quick to point out that some will have returned home.
Shamelessly Immigration Minister Liam Byrne is quotes as saying “from next year we will start counintg people in and out of Britain”, at the opening of The Migration Impacts Forum 21 June 2007. Oh well there's an idea, how on earth did he come up with that?
Source Home Office website
http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/press-releases/forum-migration-impacts

Such rapid increases in the population clearly puts strain on all sections of our public services and not least on our housing stock, increasing yet further the demand for new builds.

Park 'N' Ride Set to Close

The Park and Ride service in Armstrong Road just of the Loose Road that serves the southern approach roads to Maidstone is set to close on the 3rd Sept.

This decission was made without consultation and is expected to increase traffic congestion on the Loose Road and in fact on the whole of the southern approach to Maidstone. A massive 71,888 cars will now be forced to travel into the centre of the town, not only disrupting the lives of the 104,000 users of the service but the thousands of other drivers who have no other option than to use the southern approach roads.

This added traffic will clearly increase pollution for local residents to endure.

In the council paper titled "Record of Decision of the Council Member for the Environment" signed by Cllr Tony Harwood, he acknowledges that "the car park in Armstrong Road is owned by the Council and if not required could be sold producing a substantial capital sum."

So it looks like the Council Leaders are planning to shoehorn even more houses into an area which has already seen unpresidented development. Of Course the greatest irony of the whole thing is that the Park 'N' Ride was just about the only peice of "infrasture" that the Borough Council had contibuted to in the area, to ease traffic problems. This will undoubtedly undo any of the benefit that the KCC traffic mangement system had achieved on these heavily congested roads.