Local Plan Review
MAIDSTONE BOROUGH LOCAL PLAN REVIEW REGULATION 22 NOTIFICATION OF SUBMISSION
Maidstone Borough Council has confirmed that it has submitted its Local Plan Review, together with supporting documents, to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 31st March 2022 for independent examination.
The Local Plan and other submission documents, including the Sustainability Appraisal, Policies Map (including Inset Maps), Consultation Statement and copies of the representations made on the Draft for-Submission Local Plan Review, can be viewed on the Borough Council’s website at: https://localplan.maidstone.gov.uk/home/local-plan-review-examination
Copies of the submitted Local Plan Review, Policies Map, Sustainability Appraisal, and Consultation Statement will be made available for inspection at:
- Maidstone Borough Council, Maidstone House, King Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 6JQ by appointment. Please contact the Strategic Planning Team, by email at: [email protected] or by phone 01622 602000
- All libraries in the Maidstone borough area (Please check with the particular library for opening times).
Further information about the Local Plan Review examination will be posted on the examination webpage for the Local Plan Review on the Borough Council’s website at: https://localplan.maidstone.gov.uk/home/local-plan-review-examination
Parish Council - Local Plan Regulation 19 Consultation Response December 2021
The Parish Council has carefully considered MBC’s Regulation 19 Consultation document and has submitted its response to MBC.
To read the Parish Council response please follow the link SPC Response Dec 2021
Parish Council – Local Plan Regulation 18b Consultation Response December 2020
The Parish Council has carefully considered MBC’s Regulation 18b Preferred Approach Consultation document and has submitted its response to MBC. In doing so, the Parish Council has taken particular note of the feedback received from residents earlier in the year at the public meeting.
To read the Parish Council response please follow the link SPC Response Dec 2020.
UDPDATE 23/12/20: MBC has announced that it is extending the consultation period beyond the original closing date of 22nd December until close of business on 8th January 2021. Please do take advantage of the extended period to let MBC know what you think about its approach to the Local Plan Review.
The Parish Council thanks residents who have already sent comments to MBC. To read more about the review and how to respond to the consultation, go to the MBC website using the following links. MBC Local plan review page and MBC consultations page
MBC's Local Development Scheme 2020-2022 sets out a timetable for what will happen after the consultation. The next key stage will be another consultation in June 2021; this will be on the draft Development Plan Documents which MBC will propose to submit to a planning inspector for formal examination.
Local Plan Review Update November 2020
A key stage in the review of the Maidstone Borough Local Plan has arrived.
As part of its review of the Local Plan, in 2019 Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) invited interested parties to submit sites for consideration for housing development. MBC has evaluated the many submissions that it received and narrowed them down to a smaller number.
Of 31 sites put forward for Staplehurst, MBC has designated two with initial preferred status. They are: Lodge Road (site 066) – 78 units; Home Farm (site 114) – 49 units. These 127 extra units would be in addition to the 710 units already in the Local Plan, which are located on the sites at Hen & Duckhurst Farm (Marden Road), Bovis and Redrow sites north of Headcorn Road and on land north of Henhurst Farm in the southwest of the village.
From 1st December until 22nd December 2020, MBC is holding a public consultation to seek views about its approach to the Local Plan Review. MBC has titled the consultation as a Regulation 18b consultation after the relevant legislation that governs it. For full information, including details of how to respond, please click the links below to go to MBC’s website:
The Parish Council will review the consultation documents and will respond to the consultation. It encourages all residents to have their say and respond to the consultation too.
Previously Published Information
Background Information
In 2017 Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) adopted the Maidstone Borough Local Plan which set a framework for development in the Borough until 2031. MBC is now reviewing the plan to ensure that it is fit for its future purpose. The Local Plan Review will look ahead to at least 2037 and possibly further into the future.
Call for Sites
As part of its Local Plan Review, between March and May 2019, MBC received submissions from landowners and developers offering sites for possible development. MBC published on its website the information it received from those landowners and developers. You can view the information and a borough-wide map illustrating the location of the sites on MBC’s website at :Local Plan Review - Call for Sites
The submissions include 32 sites in the parish of Staplehurst. Submission of a site does not mean that it will automatically be accepted for inclusion in the Maidstone Borough Local Plan.
Staplehurst’s Response
The Parish Council and its Neighbourhood Plan Review Group have reviewed the information about the submitted sites and discussed the information with MBC. The Parish Council believes that MBC must take into account, under its Duty to Cooperate, the implications of development proposed in the Tunbridge Wells Borough Draft Local Plan. Such development will have a significant impact on traffic flows along the A229. The Parish Council has major concerns about the inadequacy of inherited infrastructure and the apparent absence of plans to address the situation. The Parish Council objects to all the sites submitted for housing development.
In January 2020, both the Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Plan Review Group sent to MBC written comments about the sites, highlighting their concerns. On 25th February 2020, the Parish Council held a very well-attended public meeting in Staplehurst to explain the Call for Sites process and the responses made by the Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Plan Review Group. On this page below, you will find material from that meeting:
- Presentation about the Call for Sites, including a review of all submitted Staplehurst sites
- Schedule and map showing all submitted Staplehurst sites
- Comments submitted to MBC by the Parish Council and Neighbourhood Plan Review Group
- How you can help – a quick-reference document that gives you useful points of contact, so that you can have your say.
How Can You Help?
It is very important that you tell MBC and other appropriate authorities what you think, so please do look at the ‘How you can help’ document. Please copy your comments to the Parish Office, as the Parish Council wants to know what you think too.
If you have any questions about the Call for Sites information, please contact a councillor at the regular Saturday morning surgeries, come to a Parish Council meeting or contact the Parish Office where you can also obtain hard copies of the published information.
Inclusion of any website link does not imply endorsement or approval by Staplehurst Parish Council of the linked website, its operator or its content nor is Staplehurst Parish Council responsible for the content of any website or web page outside of the Staplehurst Parish Council website.
