Helen Grant MP has written to Tonbridge and Malling Borough Councillors urging them to reject an application to build a new community of 1,300 homes to be known as Bradbourne on land east of Kiln Barn Road and west of Hermitage Lane in Aylesford. The outline planning application includes provision for a two-form primary school and a community centre, and a new link road between New Road in East Malling and Kiln Barn Road.
The proposal, which covers 80 hectares, was submitted by the East Malling Trust. It is due to be determined by the council’s Area 3 planning committee on Monday next week.
Mrs Grant told councillors: “Throughout my time as a Member of Parliament, overdevelopment has been a persistent concern raised by constituents.
“Yes, we need more homes, but new development must prioritise brownfield sites first and be infrastructure-led.”
She said: “While I recognise the Labour government’s increased housing targets have forced councillors across Kent into an impossible position, we have a duty as elected representatives to oppose substantial and inappropriate overdevelopment when necessary.
“The Bradbourne housing development proposals of up to 1,300 additional dwellings will impose impossible new pressures on local infrastructure that is already creaking at its absolute limits, making it more difficult to get a GP appointment, find school places for young families, and increasing congestion on our roads.
“The recent water outages by South East Water are further evidence, if any were needed, that our local utilities and services cannot withstand even more housebuilding.
“Furthermore, the greenfield agricultural land that would be replaced if this development is approved is increasingly crucial for our food security in an ever more dangerous world.”
The MP added: “The plan will also remove yet another large open space between Maidstone and Aylesford, exacerbating the continuous urban sprawl across our open countryside and overwhelming our green spaces and local services from Allington to Kings Hill.
“This is all the more concerning when considered simultaneously with recently approved planning applications at Bunyards Farm in Maidstone and Ivy Farm in East Malling.
“I therefore urge you to stand up for common sense and reject this application.”
The application has already been condemned by the neighbouring authority, Maidstone Borough Council, which fears increased pressure on its own roads and services. Find out about planning applications that affect you at the Public Notice Portal. Aylesford and Ditton Parish councils have also both objected, as has East Malling and Larkfield and West Malling Parish Councils.
There have also been concerns raised by the Kent Wildlife Trust and Historic England, and there have been more than 500 individual letters of objection. Nevertheless, the council’s planning officers are recommending approval, mainly because the borough cannot demonstrate that it has a five-year housing land supply. In such circumstances, the Labour government requires that it must exercise a “tilted balance” in favour of approval.
Details of the Brabourne scheme can be found on the Tonbridge and Malling website here. Search for planning reference number 24/00372.
Councillors have a long weekend of study ahead of them before Monday evening’s 5.30pm meeting.
The committee report alone, which is only a summary of all the issues raised, extends to 499 pages.
This article was published on the 5th March in Kent Online, and can be accessed here: https://kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/huge-opposition-to-1-300-homes-….
