Invicta Park Barracks – development update

Following a Defence Review, it was announced in 2016 that Invicta Park Barracks, home to the 36 Engineers Regiment and the King's Gurkha Engineers, would close in 2029.

The Government made clear an intention to redevelop this historic site for housing and Maidstone Borough Council subsequently allocated the Barracks for at least 1,300 new homes and a secondary school within their 2024 Local Plan Review document. 

Your local Liberal Democrat councillors gave evidence at the Hearings for the Local Plan Review, where they gave powerful evidence on the historic significance of the parkland and Park House.  They also emphasised the profound natural beauty and wildlife importance of its surviving sylvan parkland and woodland to the Hearing Inspector and the Government’s wildlife watchdog, Natural England. The site’s associations with Tudor monarchs, the celebrated Lushington family and poet laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson, alongside the environmental sensitivity of the parkland, makes Invicta Park Barracks a very challenging proposition for any development, let alone for a massive1.300 new homes and a school.

This allocation, together with even larger strategic developments at Lidsing and in Lenham Heath, were forced over the line at the tail-end of the last administration at Maidstone Borough Council, just before they were swept from power in the May 2024 local elections.

In recognition of the very special nature of Invicta Park Barracks, the new administration established an influential stakeholders steering group, which is tasked with drafting a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) that addresses all of the sensitivities associated with this historic, wildlife-rich parkland site. The new Maidstone Council Cabinet Member for Planning Policy and Management has also ensured that Tree Preservation Orders will be implemented following detailed survey work.

The first meetings of the steering group have now been held, including a site tour, and briefings from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and other key stakeholders. It is hoped that the Supplementary Planning Document can be completed in the next six months to “lock-in” long-term protection for the historic and natural wonders of this site and ensure the highest quality for any new development – whatever the future holds for local government in Kent. 

Your local borough and county councillors all sit on the new steering group, and we will report back regularly on progress.

Liberal Democrat County Councillor Ian Chittenden commented:

"North Maidstone's elected councillors have fought long and hard to save the barracks and protect its historic parkland and wildlife.

“We accept that the Local Plan Review means that we will have to accept some development, but the Supplementary Planning Document provides an opportunity to protect and enhance the best features of the site including the Grade II* Listed Park House, walled garden and extensive areas of wood pasture and woodland.”