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Blue Boys Inn: council pledges to take action
A small victory, perhaps, in Tunbridge Wells district, but CPRE Kent has prompted some action in the long-running saga of the Blue Boys Inn at Kippings Cross, Matfield.
You can read the full background to the story here, but, briefly, Lady Akenhead, chairman of the Tunbridge Wells CPRE committee, and John Wotton, chairman of CPRE Kent’s historic buildings committee, wrote to the chief executive of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council asking the local authority to act to reverse the decline of the Grade II-listed building, which is subject to a planning application for a restaurant and take-away.
The letter read:
“We write to ask you, as a matter of urgency,
a) To ensure that the council acts to secure the proper preservation of the fabric and prevent further deterioration, by issuing an Urgent Works Notice;
b) To ensure that the submissions of details are decided promptly so that any further delay in the reconstruction of the building is not due to council inaction.”
In response, Stephen Baughen, the council’s building control and development manager, wrote that an Urgent Works Notice could not be issued because the building had been “left open in its current state prior to listing”.
Such a notice can only be used to return a building to its state at the time of listing.
However, Mr Baughen does state: “With regard to the prevention of further deterioration, the council has been in discussions with the owners since your letter and has confirmed that measures will be taken within the next week to repair the protective sheeting which covers the exposed areas and secure the building.
“As an authority we have on a number of occasions requested that the sheeting be reattached or adjusted when we have noticed or been notified that it has deteriorated. The owner has always complied within a few days of notification.”
He adds: “With regard to the conditions pursuant to the approved planning application, details have been submitted and are currently be[ing] assessed/negotiated.
“There have been some delays in this process but progress is now being made and several of the conditions have been discharged.
“Several conditions remain outstanding but discussions are taking place to satisfy these elements.
“Officers are in communication with the applicant regarding the timescales for the implementation of the permission.
“The council is committed to see the preservation and restoration of this building and will progress the outstanding matters as soon as possible.
“We will be monitoring the site in the next week to check that the sheeting has been appropriately secured.”
And if the council does not monitor the site, you can rest assured that CPRE Kent will be!
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
- 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
