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An update from Save Our Heath Lands
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It has been a while since we were last in touch however a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes which you'll see in our latest newsletter. But before we get to that, we have a big ask of you.
SOHL has played a critical role in holding Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) to account over the last three years, fighting on behalf of our local community, to stop the Council’s disastrous plan to build a new town of over 5,000 houses on the edge of Lenham. This is over and above the 1,000 homes already agreed in the Lenham Neighbourhood Plan up to 2031.
We are proud to say that we have been a proverbial ‘thorn in their side’ and continue to work closely with Lenham Parish Council in taking action to challenge the Borough Council’s proposal.
….. and the fight is not over yet.
This is our last chance to stop the proposed Heathlands 'new town' from being included in the Local Plan, but we now need to move quickly to ensure we have the necessary funds for legal representation to challenge the Local Plan – if we are required to do so – which could cost around £40,000.
We urgently need your help. We know times are difficult for many with the current cost-of-living increases, but if you feel you can make a donation or pledge (see more below), whatever you can afford, then here is how you can donate:
- Cash transfers can be paid to Save Our Heath Lands: Account Number: 56825161. Sort Code: 60-01-21
- Donate online or make a pledge, at www.saveourheathlands.co.uk/ways-to-donate
- If you have cash or cheque donations, please call Kate Hammond 07925 606 236 and she will arrange for the funds to be collected. Cheques to be made payable to: Save Our Heath Lands
Every little bit helps. A huge thank you to those who have already given generously to the campaign. All our expenditure is overseen by the SOHL Management Committee and our use of funds to date is fully recorded and available for inspection on request.
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Our New Supporters’ Pledge Fund
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We have spent the last three years opposing the disastrous Heathlands proposal through the regulatory planning system. It is still our hope that Heathlands will be thrown out in the final stages of the local plan-making process and common sense will finally prevail.
However, in the unfortunate event that the planning system fails our community, we believe we will be left with no choice but to mount a legal challenge on the decision to adopt the Maidstone Local Plan, if it includes the Heathlands policy.
To mount a legal challenge, we will have to move extremely quickly and this could be as soon as July 2023.
To help us gauge how much we will have in our ‘fighting fund’ to pay for legal representation we are asking our supporters, who feel they can, to pledge any amount of £500 or more. This will help us know what funds we have before we commit to any legal support and allow us to call upon funds swiftly in an equitable way. We would only be looking for 10% of the pledge to be paid now. The remaining amount will form part of our funding plan and be requested only if needed.
To pledge £500 or more to our Supporters’ Pledge Fund, please visit our website here to find out more and download a pledge form.
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Latest on the Independent examination of Maidstone Borough Council’s Local Plan submission
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On 31 March 2022, MBC submitted its Local Plan to the Secretary of State for independent examination. Mr David Spencer from the Planning Inspectorate was appointed by the Secretary of State to carry out the independent examination. His role is to consider the soundness of the Local Plan and whether it has met the legal and procedural requirements set out in the National Planning Policy Framework.
In September 2022, Stage 1 of the Independent Inspection was held. You can find more information on the hearing and our response to it on our website.
Disappointingly, in a letter to MBC, the Inspector agreed there was some merit to the proposal to develop significant housing in what was described as ‘the broad Lenham location’, but he found Heathlands currently ‘not sound’ and asked MBC to carry out further significant pieces of work with third parties, such as Network Rail. While this outcome was good news, and the Borough Council has a lot of work to do, it was only an intermediate outcome and it may be that Heathlands is eventually included in the Local Plan. Then we will be moving to a new level, involving legal representation. This is why we need to raise funds.
Stage 2 of the Independent Inspection will take place between 15 May and 8 June. The Inspector has published the draft programme for the hearings. SOHL representatives will be in attendance and ensuring local people are heard.
We are currently working through the huge amount of additional evidence MBC have recently submitted to the Inspector particularly on highway impacts and we are preparing a SOHL response to the questions raised by the Inspector due by 4 May.
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Our petition to save Maidstone's countryside reaches 1,000
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You may have seen in the news recently that the Government has scrapped its mandatory national housing target which means councils no longer need to maintain a 5-year housing land supply. Over 55 Local Authorities in England have suspended their local development plans, which specify how they will meet demand for new homes in their area.
Maidstone Borough Council is now one of a few authorities that is pressing ahead with its Local Plan despite no longer there being a need to do so. We are calling on MBC to pause their Local Plan, re-assess the actual local need for new homes in Maidstone and re-submit a revised plan that adopts a brownfield-first approach and removes the thousands of greenfield sites currently earmarked for development.
Our assessment of Maidstone's draft Local Plan calculates over 2,000 acres of green space will be lost over the next 15-20 years in the borough, nearly five times the size of Mote Park and six times the size of London's Hyde Park!
Please support our petition today so that we can lobby MBC to pause their Local Plan.
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An update on our Save Lenham Rail Station campaign
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You may recall in March 2022 we launched our petition to save Lenham railway station when we discovered that Maidstone Borough Council and Homes England were looking at options to build a new station in the proposed Heathlands development at the expense of the existing station. Following the understandable public backlash from our local community and the success of the petition, MBC moved quickly to confirm that they did not want to see the existing station close.
They stopped short of ruling out the option completely and their further echnical feasibility report dated September 2022 still contained the idea as well as another option to move the station to the other side of the Headcorn Road, building a new access road through the current fire station.
We continue to monitor MBC’s latest intentions on rail access and will vigorously protest any risk to our existing station.
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New Community Information Events
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We will be organising a series of community events in Lenham and surrounding villages to update residents on the latest campaign to stop MBC from concreting over our green spaces. Keep an eye on our website and social media for more updates soon.
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