2012; The year of drought?

No, Protect Kent are not stating that there will be a drought next year – but that is only because there has not been any formal declaration made to that effect! However, based on the current water resources situation, the risk of parts of Britain, especially the South East, enduring drought measures next summer is becoming very likely.

Autumn has come and gone, but the usual weather patterns and rainfall were noticeably absent.  November continued a pattern set in the preceding months of Autumn, receiving under 60% of the rainfall that is considered ‘normal’ for this month. Reports from the Environment Agency show that “the last three months have been the fifth driest September – November period since 1910” and “2011 has experienced the fourth driest January to November period”.
However, should our weather ‘return to normal service’ over December and the following months, and we receive rainfall commensurate with this time of year, drought measures can be avoided.  This will in part be due to appropriate measures incorporated within water companies’ Water Resource Management Plans – something Protect Kent have encouraged in the past.
So what does next year have in store for us ‘water-wise’?
Well, the first Drought Order in the South East is likely to be in operation in early January.  South East Water have applied to Defra for a specific Order, to enable them to replenish stocks in Ardingly Reservoir (serving 72,000 homes across East and West Sussex) over the winter period.  This will happen irrespective of future rainfall, as the amount of “usable” water currently available in the reservoir is only about 12%.
Should a formal drought be declared, then we must expect to see a number of other applications for Drought Orders being issued by water companies.  In Kent, our major surface water source is Bewl Water, near Lamberhurst, which was approaching minimum levels at the end of November.  But at the moment Southern Water are just keeping a watchful eye on the situation. Thankfully, in Kent, around 70% of our potable water is supplied from groundwater sources, which at present are generally healthy.
Protect Kent will also be keeping a watchful eye on the situation … and you can expect to read more about this serious issue, should the situation worsen.

• A number of important documents have yet to emerge. For example, a rigorous transport plan and a finalised air-quality assessment. The latter is critical given that allocations at Teynham will feed extra traffic into AQMAs.
• There seems to be no coherent plan for infrastructure delivery – a key component of the plan given the allocations being proposed near the already crowded Junction 7.
• There seems to have been little or no cooperation with neighbouring boroughs or even parish councils within Swale itself.

The removal of a second consultation might have been understandable if this final version of the plan were similar to that being talked about at the beginning of the consultation process. It is, however, radically different in the following ways:

• There has been a major shift in the balance of housing allocations, away from the west of the borough over to the east, especially around the historic town of Faversham. This is a move that raises many concerns.
• A new large allocation, with accompanying A2 bypass, has appeared around Teynham and Lynsted, to which we are objecting.
• Housing allocations in the AONB around Neames Forstal that were judged “unsuitable” by the council’s own officers have now appeared as part of the housing numbers.
• Most of the housing allocations being proposed are on greenfield sites, many of them on Grade 1 agricultural land – a point to which we are strongly objecting.

Concerns about the rush to submit the plan

The haste with which the plan is being prepared is especially worrying given the concentration of housing in Faversham. If the town is to take a large amount of new housing, it is imperative that the policies concerning the area are carefully worked out to preserve, as far as possible, the unique nature of the town. The rush to submit the plan is likely to prove detrimental.

As Swale does not have a five-year land housing supply, it is open to speculative development proposals, many of which would run counter to the ideas contained in the current plan. Some are already appearing. This is a common situation, and one that, doubtless, is a reason behind Swale’s haste.

Our overriding fear, however, is that this emphasis on haste is ultimately going to prove counterproductive. This is because it is our view that the plan, in its current form, is unlikely to pass independent examination. We are urging Swale to listen to and act upon the comments being made about the plan and to return the plan to the council with appropriate modifications before submitting it to the Secretary of State.

Essentially, this means treating the current consultation not as the final one but as the ‘lost’ second consultation.

The consultation ends on Friday 30 April and we strongly urge residents to make their opinions known if they have not already done so.

Further information

• Read more on the Swale Local Plan
• Read CPRE Kent’s detailed comments on the plan
• View the council’s consultation document