Gravesham Green Belt: fight for it or lose it!

Local people are being urged to fight for the Green Belt in Gravesham.
Below is a list of the sites under threat and Alex Hills, Gravesham chairman of CPRE Kent, is making clear what is at stake.
“Many of these sites are on prime farmland, which is much needed for food supply,” he said.
“The proposals will result in villages merging, while no account has been taken of the impact of the new Thames crossing or the planned theme park.
“Many of the locations have poor public-transport links and the infrastructure is not there to support the developments.
“The sites in Meopham and Istead Rise will increase traffic on the A227, which is already facing at least a 10 per cent increase in traffic from the new Thames crossing.
“Further, these developments would destroy important wildlife habitat.
“Please, if you want to protect the Gravesham countryside, write to your MP and your ward councillor.”
Proposals in the Gravesham Local Plan Regulation 18 (Stage 2) Consultation could see 425 new homes in Higham, 275 in Istead Rise and 1,705 in Meopham, plus commercial development.

Sites under threat:

• Land west of Wrotham Road (Site B), next to Helen Alison school, Hook Green, Meopham. Meopham North: 120 dwellings
• Land at Longfield Avenue, New Barn, Istead Rise: 25 dwellings
• Willerby Farm, 2 Downs Road, Istead Rise: 10 dwellings
• Land west of Walmers Avenue, Higham Shorne, Cobham and Luddesdown: 40 dwellings
• Land north of Steeles Lane, Meopham DA13 0QQ (behind houses south side of the green). Meopham South: 95 dwellings
• Land north of The Drove Way, Istead Rise (behind the island): 75 dwellings
• Land west of Norwood Lane, Meopham (Churchways, Meopham). Meopham North: 150 dwellings
• Former Tollgate Hotel, Gravesend: commercial
• Land adjacent to Higham station: commercial
• Canal Road, Higham: 10 dwellings
• School Close, Hook Green, Meopham. Meopham North: 15 dwellings
• Land to the south of Green Lane and east of Wrotham Road, Hook Green, Meopham (opposite Camer Parade). Meopham North: 350 dwellings
• Land at and adjoining Buckland Farm, Chalk Road, Higham: 40 dwellings
• Land north of Camer Road, Hook Green, Meopham (Norwood Lane to Sole Street). Meopham North: 520 dwellings
• Land north of Melliker Lane, Hook Green, Meopham. Meopham North: 160 dwellings
• Land between Melliker Lane and Longfield Road, Hook Green. Meopham North: 180 dwellings
• Land to the north, east and west of Three Crutches. Higham/Shorne, Cobham and Luddesdown: commercial
• Rose Farm, Downs Road, Istead Rise: 165 dwellings
• Land to the east and south of Lomer Farm, Wrotham Road, Meopham (behind Cricketers Drive): Meopham North 115 dwellings
• Land between Lower Rochester Road, Hermitage Road and School Lane, Higham: 85 dwellings
• Land between Taylors Lane and School Lane, to the north of High View, Higham: 250 dwellings 

• You can learn more from Gravesham Borough Council’s Local Plan Core Strategy Partial Review and Site Allocations Document and Development Management Policies Document here  

Friday, November 6, 2020

• 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