Local Development Framework

This autumn the District Council has started a strategic land availability assessment (SLAA). Its purpose is to identify land that could be developed for either housing, employment or leisure purposes. A list of sites was circulated for comment to interested parties and comprised sites submitted by owners and developers in response to the ‘call for sites’ last year and sites identified in a survey by consultants. This initiative is part of the preparation of the core strategy which will lie at the centre of the Local Development Framework. Next Spring the Council will publish a list for public consultation of those sites selected from the SLAA process. The public’s principal interest will be in those sites where the large amount of housing needed in the District could be accommodated. Throughout the Council has emphasised that these sites will be identified as where development could be undertaken, not should be undertaken. In our submission we supported further redevelopment in the Mead Lane area along Marshgate Drive and bordering the Navigation, development of the surplus land at the Post Office sorting office, redevelopment of Castle Mead Gardens and development on the top half of the former Christ’s Hospital playing field in Mangrove Road. We opposed sites involving expansion of the town’s boundaries into the Green Belt or the Green Fingers, and proposals for using existing employment land for housing.

PLANNING MATTERS - Riverside Garden Centre

The owner is seeking the removal of a condition of planning approval for the new building, requiring timber cladding to be provided. He argues that the planting in front of the building provides ‘natural and attractive screening’. We objected on the grounds that the planting has a highly unnatural appearance and is manifestly trying to hide something. The metal building is still seen for what it is, and as an industrial-style building it does nothing to preserve the rural character of the Green Belt in this location. Even if the planted finish were a satisfactory alternative, it is notoriously difficult for planning authorities to ensure that planting is retained and maintained in a satisfactory condition in perpetuity. To date this application has not yet been determined.

PLANNING MATTERS - Adams Yard:

This site lies between Dolphin Yard, now redeveloped, and the Seed Warehouse. The recent application for residential reuse of this site is just the latest in a long- running sequence from a number of owners or prospective owners. We objected on the grounds that the layout of the units was such that some of them would have windows on only one elevation a mere two metres from the rear wall of adjoining units, leading to sub-standard living conditions. The District Council agreed with this view, which had also been expressed by the Town Council, and refused the application.

Planning Applications - Fordwich Hill

The applicant sought to build a detached house in the garden, fronting onto Fordwich Rise.

The Society objected on the grounds that the plot dimensions are inadequate resulting in the house being too close to the back edge of the pavement and, given the site is located close to one of the entrances to the estate, it creates a discordant visual impression on entry.

The estate does not fall within the Conservation Area, but because the houses almost all display the distinctive architectural style of the period immediately before the Second World War, it is our view that the area is worthy of protection from developments which are in conflict with the general setting adopted in the original layout.

The application was refused, but is now subject to written appeal.

Planning Applications: Former Coles shop, Maidenhead Street

We objected to a proposal to replace the existing shop front by a fully glazed façade parallel to the street line. We noted that all the other shops in the street, bar one, have solid stall boards at street level, and that this design should be repeated in the new front. The application has been rejected.