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Solar-farm campaigners travel to Westminster but debate is postponed

Elementary Admin
By Elementary Admin &
11th September 2019

MP Helen Whately addresses campaigners with their model showing the height of the planned development

It all made for quite a scene…

Staff members and volunteers from CPRE Kent travelled to Westminster on Monday (September 9) to support campaigners against proposals for the country’s largest solar farm, at Cleve Hill, near Faversham.
They were among a group of some people 50 who travelled to Parliament to listen to a debate on the impact of the plant on Graveney Marshes.
It had been secured by Faversham and Mid Kent MP Helen Whately, but unfortunately the chaos of the day, which saw Parliament suspended by the Prime Minister, meant it didn’t get to be held.
The adjournment debate, whereby the House of Commons is adjourned for a debate on a topic without a substantive motion being considered, is now due to held next month (October).
The campaigners’ trip was organised by Graveney Rural Environment Action Team (GREAT), who brought a to-scale model of one of the raised platforms needed to support the solar panels, demonstrating the height of the development.

  • For more on the Cleve Hill proposals, see here, here and here

Wednesday,
September 11, 2019


  • 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