The proposed Highsted Park development is of huge concern to local residents in Teynham & Lynsted and West Downs.
They’ve told me it will have a detrimental impact on their lives and so I’ve raised these concerns with Swale Borough Council, who are the local planning decision makers, urging them to listen to local residents.
Here is my letter to Swale Council:
Response to the Highsted North and Highsted South Planning applications
I am writing to express the serious concerns local residents have raised with me about the proposed Highsted Park developments and the detrimental impact they are likely to have on existing residents.
I have been meeting the residents of Teynham & Lynsted and West Downs since they joined my constituency in July. Without doubt this development is their biggest concern.
Taken together, the extra 8,400 houses of Highsted North and Highsted South will more than double the population of the two wards. They will fill green fields between villages with houses, completely changing the rural character of the area. The sheer size and scale of this development will mean residents who currently live in the countryside will suddenly find themselves consumed into an urban area.
One of the concerns most frequently raised with me by residents is traffic and the capacity of the local road network. I am aware that there is a plan for a new junction on the M2, but residents are sceptical about whether (or when) this would materialise. In any event the M2 already struggles to cope with the volume of traffic on it, and accidents bring it to a standstill – along with nearby A-roads. There is no likelihood of it being expanded to a 3-lane motorway any time soon to address this.
The development would inevitably lead to an increase in traffic on local lanes, which residents already find alarmingly busy with cars and lorries often trying to avoid queues on main roads. It would also lead to more traffic coming into Sittingbourne.
The development is not served by a station so road travel will be the only option for residents. Buses could of course help, but given the struggle to provide a viable bus service in rural areas like ours nobody feels this can be relied upon. Therefore thousands more cars on local roads is inevitable.
While residents recognise the development includes GP provision and schools, many have asked me whether these will be available from day one – given the current shortage of GPs in Sittingbourne and the pressure on school places. If provision of healthcare and schools lag the development that will make it even harder for the current community to access these services.
A final concern raised with me is the impact on food security of agricultural land being built on, particularly where the land is high quality farmland.
While people generally recognise the need for housing and the difficulty new generations face to afford a home of their own, there is an overwhelming level of concern about the impact a development of this scale will have on such a beautiful, rural area.
I would urge you to take these concerns into account when you and your colleagues on Swale Borough Council consider the Highsted planning applications.
Best wishes,
Helen Whately MP
Member of Parliament for Faversham and Mid Kent
