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Sick and tired of overdevelopment in Kent? Then join Sunday's Day of Action
How much more development can Kent take?
With the county subjected to increasingly crazy levels of housebuilding, a protest has been planned for people sick of the ongoing destruction of their natural environment.
The Day of Action on Sunday (November 28) will involve groups across Kent marching, walking or just plain meeting up to demonstrate their anger and upset over the loss of so much countryside to an incessant barrage of housebuilding schemes.
The Save Kent’s Green Spaces protest was put together by Dave Lovell, who had previously been involved with the Save Capel group battling plans by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council for 2,800 new houses at Tudeley and another 1,500 at East Capel.
“We are essentially an umbrella group and hope to guide others in their lawful protest. We had also always intended that individuals who did not have a campaign to align to could get involved and we are now opening up to them, as well as others who might not be able to make it on the day,” said Mr Lovell.
“We’re trying to ratchet up the political pressure and get Boris Johnson to put his words on protecting green fields into practice.
“With the National Planning Policy Framework a toothless machine, we would like to see it become advantageous for housebuilding to be on brownfield land, including the repurposing of existing buildings, and disadvantageous for it to be targeted at greenfield land.”
At the time of writing, 29 groups across Kent had signed up for the Day of Action. Among them are Save our Heathlands, who will be walking along the North Downs from Lenham Cross to Cherry Downs; Sittingbourne’s Rural Protection Group; Westgate & Garlinge Action Group in Thanet; and Farms, Fields and Fresh Air, Faversham, who will be taking a poignant route from a food hall to the fields being put up for development by Prince Charles.
Supporters who join the walks or simply do their own thing are encouraged to take photographs of threatened sites and post them on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #SaveKentsGreenSpaces or email them, with their details, to savekentsgreenspaces@gmail.com
Mr Lovell said: “From the contributions and messages we’ve already had, we’ve estimated that more than 15,300 acres are set to be lost to the proposed housing developments that we know of – but there are far more out there.
“We’re not saying the figure represents scientific analysis, even though it’s been checked by a statistician, but it’s a fair estimate. I am also not aware of any form of cumulative impact assessment that might be in place for what seems a huge loss of green space, agricultural land and wildlife habitat.
“If the day is successful – and with so many groups taking part we are confident it will be – we hope that other counties will follow suit.”
- To learn more or to take part in the Day of Action, whether as a part of an organised group or as an individual, please visit the Save Kent’s Green Spaces Facebook page here or email savekentsgreenspaces@gmail.com
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
- 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
