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Sites in Tovil rejected from Local Plan by Maidstone Borough Council

Proposals which threatened to change the face of Tovil were shot down after less than 20 minutes of debate last night.

DHA planning consultants controversially applied to add two plots in the parish to the list of sites being considered by Maidstone Borough Council.

Farmland stretching from Dean Street to Stockett Lane – with room for 472 homes, a new rugby club and a GP surgery – was slipped on to list at the last minute alongside two fields near Bydews Place, with the capacity for 50 houses.

Parish Council vice-chairman Paul Wilby at one of the affected sites
Parish Council vice-chairman Paul Wilby at one of the affected sites

The timing of the applications, which were favoured over 34 sites and if successful would have resulted in an oversupply of 423 homes against the objectively assessed need of 18,560 by 2031, meant they skipped public consultation.

“We should not even be discussing this tonight. Neither has gone through public consultation. I do not think we should cut corners with this." — Cllr Derek Mortimer

MBC’s Strategic Planning, Sustainability and Transportation Committee unanimously rejected the sites from the list of allocations being submitted to the next stage of the Local Plan process.

Speaking at the meeting members of the public and Tovil Parish Council said green-lighting the sites would send a message to developers that public consultation was not an important part of the process.

Committee members also voiced their concerns about the lack of involvement of residents in the proposals and said it would not be appropriate to progress further with the sites.

Cllr Derek Mortimer said: “We should not even be discussing this tonight. Neither has gone through public consultation. I do not think we should cut corners with this.

“These developments have been on the cards for a few months and the developer is trying to get them in at the last minute.”

Cllr Fran Wilson added approval would result in residents’ confusion at inconsistencies in the way the council approached sites, asking: “How do you explain to residents how you can do one thing one way on one occasion and in another way on a different day?”

The site for the proposed development of 472 homes
The site for the proposed development of 472 homes

Members also cited a range of issues hampering development, including the quality of the land, lack of room for open space and Kent County Council Highway’s criticism of the road layout.

The figure for houses allocated to sites remains at 18,481 ahead of the next stage of the Local Plan process, meaning there is a shortfall of 79 homes.

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