Local Plan Review ~ Call For Sites

Progress Update

Maidstone Borough Council’s Local Plan, which provides a framework for development until 2031, was adopted on 25th October 2017.

Local Plans are subject to review during their lifetime and as part of this process Maidstone asked landowners to submit sites for consideration as the required housing numbers had increased since its adoption. This Call For Sites process resulted in 334 sites being put forward between March and May 2019.

The Society undertook its own appraisal of all submitted sites within Bearsted and Thurham, together with a few close to the parish boundaries which had the potential to affect residents, and submitted its findings to Maidstone Borough Council.

Officers have now carried out an initial assessment on all submitted sites within the borough to determine their suitability for inclusion in the Local Plan Review and the results will be considered by the Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee at their meeting on 22nd September.

Maidstone Borough Council have colour coded all of the potential housing sites as either red or green. Red sites are deemed as being unsuitable and green as potentially suitable but requiring further analysis. As the housing numbers provided by the borough wide green sites exceeds Maidstone’s requirements some will be removed.

The Society will submit a further appraisal to Maidstone Borough Council when the outcome of the committee meeting becomes clear.