Land North of Marden
Marden Parish Councillors were invited to a meeting at Maidstone Borough Council to discuss proposals for land at North of Maidstone Road Marden to which two Cllrs attended.
I had hoped to be able to hold an Extra Ordinary Full Council meeting on 2nd September to update residents but have deferred this until 9th September when it is hoped that we will have available further information.
Please see below statement issued 29/8/25 regarding this meeting:
EXTRA ORDINARY FULL COUNCIL MEETING – SCHEDULED FOR 2ND SEPTEMBER 2025: DEFERRED
Following advertising of the Extra Ordinary Full Council Meeting to be held on 2nd September Cllrs have requested that I obtain permission to share publicly the briefing note from the developer’s planning team received from a meeting held at Maidstone Borough Council regarding proposals for development on land North of Maidstone Road before updating residents on the current situation.
Therefore, I have deferred this meeting until 9th September, same venue and time, to allow Cllrs the opportunity to gather as much information as possible to help inform residents but will now form part of the monthly Full Council meeting.
The parish council’s website page will also be updated with an explanatory note about the current status, expected next steps and details about how and when Cllrs and members of the public would be involved in the process in due course.
To view MPC’s Call for Sites response in 2020 on this site please visit: Land North of Marden - Marden Parish Council - Marden Parish Council, Marden, Tonbridge
Please note that the meeting on the 9th will not be a meeting when Cllrs will make any decisions or recommendations on the proposals as no formal planning application has been received but will be an opportunity to consider the expected next steps, timeframes and details on how the Parish Council and residents will be involved in the planning process.
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me on 01622 832305 or [email protected].
Alison Hooker
Proper Officer to Marden Parish Council
The Planning Committee meeting will go ahead with the items published on the agenda but will be held in the Parish Office commencing at 7.30pm.
Land North of Marden (Maidstone Road) site was submitted within the Call for Sites 2020 of Maidstone Borough Council's (MBC) Local Plan Review.
The Parish Council, along with many residents, responded to this in early 2020 (see below for comments).
At Regulation 18b of the Local Plan in December 2020 a further response (see below) was submitted although the site for the “Garden Community” option had not been included in MBC’s Preferred Approaches consultation.
In April 2021 an application was received via MBC for a Scoping Opinion on this site. Cllrs initially discussed this at their meeting on 20th April with the agreement that a draft document would be circulated via email to Cllrs for further discussion at the Planning Committee meeting on 18th May (an extension had been agreed with MBC until 19th May for a response).21/501909/EIASCO | EIA Scoping Opinion - Proposed development of up to 2,000 dwellings, in addition to a care home, new primary school, nursery, retail and employment provision together with associated community facilities, open space and infrastructure improvements including improvements to Marden train station on land north of Marden, Kent. | Land North Of Marden Maidstone Road Marden Kent (midkent.gov.uk)
This site has subsequently not been included in the Local Plan review.