Local Plan Review

Marden Parish Council has continued to respond to Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) on the review of the Local Plan and this is now with the Planning Inspector to ascertain the soundness of the plan for future years.  Further details on the process and the current information is available at Local Plan Review – Examination – MBC Local Plan (maidstone.gov.uk)

Maidstone Borough Council Local Plan Review was adopted on 20th March 2024 and can be viewed at: Adopted Local Plan Review 2021-2038 – MBC Local Plan (maidstone.gov.uk)

There is a lot of speculation within the village about a specific site that may be put forward for development in the future.  Until this, or any site, is put forward to Maidstone Borough Council for the Local Plan Review we are unable to comment further.  To date, no planning application has been submitted.

Maidstone Borough Council has just issued this notice about the Local Plan Review:

“Maidstone Borough Council is starting its Local Plan Review, following the adoption of the Maidstone Borough Local Plan in 2017.  An important early step in the process is a ‘Call for Sites’.

The Call for Sites is an open request for information about land and sites which may have development potential in the future. It is particularly aimed at landowners, developers and their agents but it is open to anyone to submit a site.  A key proviso is that the person submitting the site can confirm that the landowner is willing to make the land available for development should it prove suitable.

We are asking for information about land which could be suitable for the following uses;

·         Housing, including specialist housing such as housing for the elderly

·         Employment uses – offices, research & development, industrial uses and storage & distribution

·         Retail

·         Leisure eg hotels, gyms, cinemas

·         Gypsy & Traveller/Travelling Showpeople accommodation

·         Nursing and care homes

Importantly, submitting a site through the Call for Sites does not mean that it will prove suitable for inclusion in the Local Plan Review or that it will get planning permission in the future.  Its important purpose is to give the council a starting list of candidate sites to consider.

More information about the Call for Sites is available through the following link on the council’s website https://maidstone.gov.uk/callforsites (please note this link will not be available until 28th February).  We have prepared an information pack which provides supporting information, including a dedicated New Garden Communities Prospectus as guidance for those wishing to promote large scale new neighbourhoods or settlements.  The dedicated submission form available on the website will give us the information we need to assess the site.

The Call for Sites closed on Friday 24th May 2019. 

Maidstone Borough Council are now spending time comprehensively assessing the planning merits of the submitted sites.  In due course the outcomes of the assessment will be compiled into a single report called a Strategic Land Availability Assessment which will be one of the evidence documents underpinning the Local Plan Review.

The current timetable sees the first public consultation on the evolving Local Plan Review document taking places in July-August 2019 with further consultations following in 2020 before the Local Plan Review is submitted for Examination in 2021.”

Marden Parish Council is committed to ensuring residents are kept informed when information about sites becomes available.  Once we have definite information from the Call for Sites process – this is hoped to be received in Autumn 2019.

If you have any queries please email the Parish Office at clerk@mardenkent-pc.gov.uk.

Guidance for responses can be seen above.

The Borough Council has published the draft for submission version of its Local Plan review (also known as the Regulation 19 version). The Regulation 19 draft for submission document will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for Examination. It is the version that the council seek to adopt, subject to the examination and will replace the current Adopted Local Plan 2017.

The Local Plan Review sets out the proposed planning policies to guide development in the borough up to 2037.

The consultation on the draft for submission document opens on 9.00am on Friday 29 October 2021 and we need to receive your comments no later than 11.59pm on Sunday 12 December 2021. The draft for submission document, associated policies map and representation form can be downloaded from MBC website:  Local Plan Review – MBC Local Plan (maidstone.gov.uk)

Local Plan Review Regulation 19 Response Form: Clarification

Following an enquiry from Councillors Mr and Mrs Sams, the initial paragraphs of the response form set out which fields are mandatory, therefore remaining fields are voluntary.

Sustainability Appraisal

The Maidstone Borough Council Local Plan Review: Regulation 19 draft for submission document is accompanied by a consultation on the accompanying Sustainability Appraisal. The Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes regulations (2004) requires that all Development Plan Documents are to be subject to a Sustainability Appraisal.  This is reiterated in the National Planning Policy Framework.

The Sustainability Appraisal is required to consider and communicate the key sustainability issues and effects of emerging policies and any reasonable alternatives. It is an iterative process which runs alongside the development of a plan and informs the ongoing decision-making process. The document being consulted on is the Sustainability Appraisal of the Maidstone Local Plan Review Regulation 19 Submission Consultation.

How to take part?

As part of the Draft Regulation 19 Local Plan Review consultation process, we are inviting you to submit your representations on the soundness and legal compliance (including with the duty to cooperate) as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Any comments should be made using the Regulation 19 Representation Form via the online consultation portal 
Consultation Home – Keystone (objective.co.uk)

Alternatively, comments can be submitted following the format of the Regulation 19 Representation Form using the below methods.

• By email to ldf@maidstone.gov.uk
• By post to Strategic Planning, Maidstone Borough Council, Maidstone House, King Street, Maidstone, ME15 6JQ

All responses must contain your full name and postal address in order for your response to be processed as part of this consultation.

Alongside the draft for submission document, the council have updated its Local Plan Review evidence base which can be viewed on MBC’s website: Local Plan Review – MBC Local Plan (maidstone.gov.uk). If you would like to purchase a copy of the Local Plan Review draft for submission Regulation 19 Making a Planning Before Paying – maidstone.gov.uk.

In order to see the past consultations please see the ‘Previous Consultations’ on MBC’s website: Local Plan Review – MBC Local Plan (maidstone.gov.uk).

What is the Local Plan Review?

Local plans must be consistent with national policy but can also take on board local planning issues that are important to Maidstone.

The adopted Maidstone Borough Local Plan provides a framework for development until 2031. It plans for homes, jobs, shopping, leisure and the environment, and provides infrastructure to support these. The plan was formally adopted at Full Council on 25 October 2017.

The Local Plan Review will ensure that the Local Plan remains up to date.

Local Plan Review Process

Local Development Scheme

We’re required by government to prepare a Local Development Scheme (LDS). A LDS sets out the timetable for the delivery of planning policy documents like our Local Plan.

We adopted our Local Plan in October 2017 and intend to review it. The LDS sets out the timetable for our Local Plan Review. The Local-Development-Scheme-2020-2022-September-2020-FINAL-VERSION.pdf (maidstone.gov.uk) which was approved by Full Council on 30th September 2020 has been amended. The LDS 2020-2022 outlined that the Regulation 19 consultation was to take place in June 2021.

There have been changes to the Local Plan Review timetable, and subsequently the LDS. The reason for the change is to help Maidstone Borough Council respond to government changes to the standard methodology used to calculate housing need and to help respond to the significant responses received during the Regulation 18 Preferred Approaches Consultation. The Local-Development-Scheme-2021-2023.pdf (maidstone.gov.uk) was approved by Full Council on 14th July 2021 and took effect on the same day.

The public notice can be viewed Public-Notice-Local-Development-Scheme-2021-2023.pdf (maidstone.gov.uk).

The Council is currently complying with the timetable.

Statement of Community Involvement 2020

The Statement-of-Community-Involvement-FINAL-amended.pdf (maidstone.gov.uk) sets out when and how stakeholders and the local community can get involved in the preparation of local plans, neighbourhood development plans and supplementary planning documents, and be involved in the process of decision making on planning applications.

There is a temporary addendum in relation to Covid 19 which can be viewed Maidstone-Statement-of-Community-Involvement-Covid-10-Addendum-May-2020.pdf. As restrictions are lifted and libraries reopen the Council will make documents available for public viewing. See table below for information on which libraries are open and what documents will be available.

Thank you to everyone who has submitted a feedback form or comments regarding MBC’s recent Call for Sites.  The Parish Council has produced documents of all the responses received and a brief summary of the ones received via feedback forms.

All the responses, comments and those added as Annexes have been combined into a folder along with the full response from Marden Parish Council on sites 226, 309 & 318.  This have now been submitted to Maidstone Borough Council.

Please see below the information collated from comments, photographs and other information received together with MPC’s response.  Please note the MPOG Technical Document (Annex 4a) was too big a document to upload however please let the Parish Office know if you wish to view.

Cllrs are currently reviewing the other sites relevant to the parish and any comments received will be taken on board when discussing these.  If you have any further information available you wish to submit please do so by the end of February at which time the Parish Council will be responding to MBC .  If anything is received after this date it will be kept on file for any future responses.