Borough Wide Local Plan
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The Transportation Committee approved the new Local Plan for the whole Borough. The Maidstone Borough-Wide Local Plan will roll the end date of the forward planning process forward to 2006, and will ultimately supersede the two adopted Plans which cover the Borough at present. Incorporating the latest central government guidance, the new Plan takes sustainable development as its keynote theme.

Following the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the U.K. government has advised local Councils to prepare development plans that are in accordance with the principle that the best Of today's environment should still be available to be enjoyed for tomorrow's generation. This laudable sentiment is particularly difficult to achieve in a Borough like Maidstone that enjoys landscapes and environments that are highly valued, whilst having to accommodate extremely high rates of development.

The new Plan sets out to strike the right balance between development pressures and retaining the best of today for tomorrow's generation. All proposals in the Plan have been subject to strict environmental assessment to ensure that the Council is getting the balance right. Significant elements of the new Plan are:-

• sizeable new housing proposals on the edge of Lordswood, in the south east of the town and around Allington;
• a new Special Landscape Area in the Low Weald;
• the designation of a Strategic Gap, protected from development in the north and to the west of the town; a new policy to protect villages to the south and east of the town from merging with the town or one another; and the creation of "green wedges" within the urban areas;
• new allocations at Cobtree Forstal and the Barracks site for high value manufacturing uses, and releasing industrial land at Tovil for residential development;
• a higher profile for tourism, that respects sustainable criteria:
• a new coordinated retailing strategy that encourages the retention of local shopping facilities for people within walking distance of their homes; and for a vibrant, accessible, multiuse 1124 hour" town centre to improve Maidstone's status as the County Town and face down the threat posted by Blue Water Park;
• a transportation strategy that places emphasis on offering people alternatives to the use of the private car; whilst nevertheless increasing the quantity and quality of customer car parking in the town centre, and seeking construction of the All Saints Bypass.
• a requirement that developer's contribute to meeting the social/community needs generated by their proposals.

The Plan will go to the printers and be placed formally on Deposit on April 18. From this time it can be used as a material consideration in determining planning applications. There will then follow a fixed six week period for comments and objections, which will be reported back to the Structure and Local Plan Group.

Unresolved objections will go to a Public Inquiry before an independent Inspector which will commence in the autumn.