In Council June '23
June has been a much busier month for your Liberal Democrat Councillors with the committees returning, budgets to review, and work to be set for the rest of the year.
New Investment
In the new Planning, Infrastructure, and Economic Development committee Cllrs. Ashley Kimmance and Richard Conyard were happy to support all four of the recommended Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), proposals as well as inviting a new round of proposals this autumn / winter. The recommended proposals are:
- The redevelopment of Heather House Community Centre in Park Wood.
- The redevelopment of the St Faith’s Community Centre in Ringlestone.
- Improvements to Junction 7 of the M20 to improve traffic flow along the A249 and Bearsted Road near Vinters Park.
- Improvements to Linton Crossroads to improve safety and traffic flow.
Cllr. Conyard said:
“I’m happy to support these proposals, the centres will be valuable community assets for decades to come, Junction 7 has been crying out for improvements for years, and Linton Crossroads doesn’t appear to have changed from when I moved to Boughton Monchelsea in the mid-eighties and wasn’t designed for today’s levels of traffic. I understand the call for improvements in and around Hermitage Lane and Fountain Lane that were raised by other councillors, but without schemes that are ready to go I feel those ready must proceed. I am glad we can consider further schemes shortly.”
Potential Parish Changes
Cllr. Brian Clark has been busy on the Democracy and General Purposes Committee with the proposal to merge the neighbourhood boundary of the North Loose Residents Association and Loose Parish Council. Cllr. Clark presented the proposal which received support from all members and is now out for a six-week public consultation. You can have your say here:
https://letstalkmaidstone.uk.engagementhq.com/community-governance-review
Cllr. Clark said:
“The NLRA is celebrating 20 years of providing a voice for residents, and I'm proud to have served on the NLRA committee for many years before successfully standing as a local councillor.
Sadly, with most committee members moving on in years, and several with ongoing health issues, the group felt the way to secure their legacy would be to join with Loose to create a single parish representing the wider Loose community.”
It is also proposed to expand Barming Parish Council boundaries to Fountain Lane. Suggestions to consult on abolishing Boxley Parish Council and Tovil Parish Council were not taken forward as they had either not been suggested by the public in the stage one consultation, or had very limited support.
Local Plan and Development
Both Cllrs. Tony Harwood and Clive English have attended the 2nd stage of the Examination of the Local Plan Review to oppose the allocation of housing in the Green belt at Lidsing and the cramming of housing into Invicta Barracks among other ill-considered proposals in the Local Plan Review. Tony and Clive also made opposing the Council’s inadequate approach to providing infrastructure and mitigation for proposed and existing housing developments.
At the same time as the Local Plan Review has been going on the Council has been consulting on a new policy document on Design and Sustainability Tony Clive and Brian Clark amongst other Lib Dem Councillors have made strong representations that this document is wholly inadequate, with major opportunities to tighten up on everything from parking standards to water efficiency to renewable energy, to controlling subdivision of houses into flats or Houses of Multiple occupation being missed. Tony said:
"Every proposal is caveated with maybes and would it not be nice if. Instead of requiring action. It is not a policy document, but a wish list that will be ignored as it currently stands."
Town Centre Strategy
June also saw the first meeting of the Town Centre User Group which comprises of all councillors for High Street Ward and surrounding wards. This was for many of the councillors the first opportunity to see the draft Town Centre Strategy to take Maidstone Town Centre to 2050. Unfortunately, the exact contents of the draft are commercially confidential and cannot be publicly disclosed. For many Lib Dem councillors the draft appears to be another profound disappointment.
Cllr. Clive English said:
“There is little recognition that a Town needs more than housing to thrive, little strategy to enhance town centre uses, or provide reasons to visit the town and no proposals to deal with traffic, improve matters for pedestrians and cyclists, or pretty much anything that smacks of any degree of ambition.”
On receiving the draft, and with the approval of other Lib Dem councillors Cllr. Richard Conyard submitted a comprehensive response to the draft highlighting shortfalls and proposing areas of ambition that he felt should be investigated. In summary Cllr. Conyard stated:
“As the strategy currently stands, I do not believe it fit for purpose. I hope there is an opportunity for changes before it is sent through to the policy advisory committees and cabinet.”
Public Transport
In the first “proper” meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee areas for examination and discussion were set and the schedule is currently being prepared by the hard-working democratic services Officers. Much of this is building from the work of last year’s committee, however it is hoped by Cllrs. Richard Conyard and Brian Clark that proposals to conduct light reviews into Digital Demand Responsive Transport (sometimes termed the future of busses), and Integrated Public Transport can be squeezed into a packed schedule.