Planning Minutes – 2nd October 2023

23/02408/FULL

Cllr D Kent seconded:

NO OBJECTION

CARRIED unanimously

Cllr A Mackie seconded:

OBJECT on grounds of noise concerns and smell, for the neighbouring residents. Concerns on created ammonia and the impact it will have on residents as well as the local wildlife and vegetation. These emissions can cause acidity in soil.

The Town Council could reconsider the proposal, subject to further information from  the Environment Protection Report and a Risk Assessment, incorporating the Fire Safety.

CARRIED unanimously

Cllr N Maari seconded:

NO OBJECTION,

Subject to compliance with a grade II listed building

CARRIED unanimously

23/00086/HYBRID

Land West Of Queen Street And Mile Oak Road Paddock Wood TN12 6NP

Cllr D Kent seconded:

PWTC strongly objects to this application being considered prior to finalisation of the local plan. This is due to the fact that with the current developments progressing in PW, the infrastructure and service improvements e.g. Schools, GP, pharmacy are not materialising despite the progress with the developments.

Paddock Wood Primary School is near full capacity. This application proposes a new primary school site. The current Persimmon development taking place in Paddock Wood also proposed a new Primary School, yet this has been delayed with no deadline for when this will be delivered. This school would need to be in place, before further grown is considered in the area.

There is already a strain on the GP practice and pharmacy, with no expansion with existing developments. These services are inadequate now and could not support further growth.  The proposed expansion must be delivered prior to further developments taking place.

There is no confidence in the community that the promised improvements will go ahead without a master planning and coordinated process. Residents would like to see improvements already promised, delivered before this development is approved.

Specific concerns are;

Flooding;

Flood modelling. There needs to be a sequential assessment of the waterflow from the proposed development, and the developments that are currently in progress, that flow into East Rhoden. KCC report also outlines these concerns and have made a number of conditions. The Upper Medway Plan internal drainage board previously proposed an expansion of one of the culverts under the railway as a method of reducing the risk of flooding. PWTC would like to see this scheme reviewed and implemented.

Network Rail have previously raised objections about building on this area due to the risk of undermining the railway and have referred to thee concerns in their most recent letter.

When building attenuation ponds, developers should refer to PW Neighbourhood Plan Policy PW GI4 to ensure that these features blend in with the surrounding area.

Concerns about the location of this development in relation to the waste water treatment works and the capacity of the treatment works. This is due to the risk of foul water flooding and offensive odours for residents of this development and existing residents.

PWTC have previously raised concerns about the location of the packaged waste treatment centre, located in the flood zone on this development. Which similarly risks waste leaking into surrounding areas.

Concerns related to Heritage;

KKC report recommends a more detailed Heritage Search is needed, which PWTC supports. PWTC would like to see more extensive archaeological assessment across the whole of the site because of the proximity of known archaeological sites of interest in the this area.

Highway Concerns;

KCC Highways comments highlight concerns regarding the potential lack of parking including mixing car club and visitor parking. PWTC has similar concerns about the total number of parking spaces and supports use of the Kent Design Guide. PW Neighbourhood Plan access and movement policy 4 outlines specifications to ensure parking is unobtrusive and has associated design codes which should be considered.

The active travel England comments suggest the walking/cycle and road designs need reviewing to ensure care do not predominate. PWTC have made previous comments relating to highway issues including concerns about the suggested Church Road junction. A staggered junction could cause problems for pedestrians & cyclists when attempting to cross, forcing more people into cars.

The volume of traffic entering and exiting PW will grow even further, causing longer journey times, increased air pollution and congestion during peak travel times. Surrounding parishes and  Boroughs have also raised concerns about the impact of increased traffic on their environments and residents.. PWTC have previously recommended a new route being created from Church Road/Mile Oak Road out to the Hop Farm Roundabout/East Peckham Roundabout, diverting traffic from the centre of Town and reducing congestion.

The Hop Pickers Line is proposed to be a walking/cycle route for the proposed development, but it is unclear how it integrates on Queen Street where it would need to link with pedestrian and cycling routes outside the development. Paddock Wood Neighbourhood Plan policy AM1 states that new walking and cycle routes should connect with existing routes to ensure connectivity.  Due to the number of horse owners and stables in the area, extension of bridleways & creation of new routes should be considered with active travel routes, which is supported by the British Horse Society comments.

CARRIED unanimously