Thank you to everyone who took part in my survey on Swale Borough Council's Local Plan.
The results are in, and it's clear there is a huge amount of frustration and sadness at what is being proposed.
The Plan, published earlier this year, would see even more homes built in the east of the Borough, bringing enormous changes for Faversham and the surrounding villages.
Ahead of the consultation on the Plan closing on 30 April, I’ve called on Swale to rethink these proposals, consult residents properly, and deliver a Local Plan that makes life better not worse for local people.
My response to the consultation is based on what people told me in the survey, as well as the huge number of emails and letters I have received about the Plan. Over 1,000 people took part in the survey, showing the strength of feeling about these proposals.
Out of 1,055 people who took part, 91 per cent of responders said they were either opposed or strongly opposed the proposals, with less than 4 per cent saying they were in favour of the Plan. Only 5 per cent of responders said they had been properly consulted.
This Plan could have been so much better if Swale Borough Council had taken the time to consult people properly and given more thought to what infrastructure we need.
I'll continue to campaign for Swale to rethink these plans and give people a Local Plan our community deserves.
Survey results and consultation response below:
Which option best describes your view about the proposed changes to Swale's Local Plan?
- Strongly support: 1.7%
- Support: 2.2%
- Not sure: 4.6%
- Opposed: 15.7%
- Strongly opposed: 75.6%
- Prefer not to say: 0.3%
Do you feel you have been properly consulted on the latest changes to Swale’s Local Plan?
- Yes: 4.7%
- No: 90.2%
- Not sure: 4.6%
- Prefer not to say: 0.6%
Swale Borough Council has said that suggestions to modify the Local Plan need to show the proposed changes are “legally non-compliant or unsound”. Do you have enough information about this?
- Yes: 3.4%
- No: 84.9%
- Not sure: 10.6%
- Prefer not to say: 1.0%
Will the changes in Swale’s Local Plan have a direct impact on you, i.e. you live near a proposed development site?
- Yes: 78.8%
- No: 10.4%
- Not sure: 8.3%
- Prefer not to say: 2.6%
Do you support the Local Plan’s proposed allocation of housing around Faversham and the surrounding villages?
- Yes: 5.0%
- No: 88.7%
- Not sure: 5.7%
- Prefer not to say: 0.6%
