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Flooding conference announced

Elementary Admin
By Elementary Admin &
9th December 2014

CPRE Kent has announced that it is to hold a major conference on the lessons learned from the 2013 floods, how effective the flood prevention measures are this winter and if anything more needs to be done, including innovative solutions.

The conference, jointly organised with Kent County Council, will be held in Maidstone on February 6th 2015 next year. Keynote speakers include the Rt Hon Damian Green MP, Leader of Kent County Council Paul Carter CBE and Chairman of Yalding Parish Council Geraldine Brown. The Environment Agency and Climate Change Council will be represented and the conference will be chaired by CPRE Kent Vice President Richard Knox-Johnston.

Following the Government’s announcement last week (December 3rd) of £2.3 billion for flood defence schemes, Richard Knox-Johnston said: “We welcome the recognition that flooding is an issue which must be addressed and will closely monitor how effective the flood defence schemes are. We question whether this will be enough as we understand it is not new money and maintenance is as important as capital projects.

Photo - BBC South East
Photo – BBC South East

“We understand why the Government has areas of high population as a priority, but the protection of farmland should be recognised too because the economy depends on our agriculture.

“We must also highlight the danger of building on floodplains and ensure that proper planning controls are in place to minimise the risk to householders.

“We are organising this conference to examine the lessons learned, in particular after the terrible floods of last winter, and look towards future actions and initiatives.”

9th December 2014

  • 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