Our countryside is non-negotiable - we the undersigned call on Maidstone Borough Council to:

• take proper account of the removal of the Government top-down housing numbers
• pause the development of the Local Plan, as other sensible authorities have done, and
• rethink its strategy to providing proper affordable housing based on evidenced local need in demonstrably sustainable locations.

Our countryside should be valued not built on.

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We have have identified more than 18,000 acres of green space set to be lost to construction across Kent; the number grows daily and this number is far less than the true total. Almost all Local Plans are focused on greenfield development, including Green Belt and AONB, the highest-quality agricultural land and protected wildlife habitat, contrary to the protections offered by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

On one Greenfield site Maidstone Council are persuing for development is over  2.5 times the size of Mote Park.

At the same time, the Government has formally abolished the national new homes target and over 55 Local Authorities across England have halted their Local Plan making process as a result.

We call on Maidstone Borough Council to halt their Local Plan immediately, and prepare a revised Plan with a lower number of homes and on brownfield sites only. 

Maidstone has repeatedly over-delivered on its housing target (170% in 2021, 146% in 2020) and more than any other district in Kent.

Maidstone Borough Council continue to approve major planning applications without the necessary infrastructure in place, particularly in relation to congested roads. Hermitage Lane is a good example of where substantial building on green space has taken place without sufficient investment in new roads or public transport. 

There is now no mandatory requirement on Maidstone Borough Council to deliver the proposed number of new homes. If we don’t stop this plan now, we will be destroying our local environment for the next two decades. This is the last opportunity before Maidstone Borough Council force it through and adopt it as formal planning policy. 

We must protect our green space. Once it is gone, it’s gone forever.