“This proposal would harm the character, function and appearance of the countryside, would harm that Area of Local Landscape Importance, (would have) unacceptable impact on the setting of the country park and would also be unacceptable in terms of its impact and viability of the rural footpath network.”
These words could be written by Medway about the Hoo Peninsula but Medway Conservatives are whipped so much they won’t even discuss the possibility. The Peninsula should and could be an ANOB.
This opening statement was written in objection to an appeal application for 800 houses around the Capstone Valley. 800 houses not the 10,600 planned for the Peninsula.
Medway’s favourite son Charles Dickens wrote “a Tale of Two Cites” but Medway has now become a Council of two sides of the River, The South side protected at all costs against development and the North side a national and internationally protected area with the most exceptional landscapes where the drive to develop fields of agricultural crops into fields of brick and tarmac is unrelenting.
Medway Council’s HIF project “Unlocking Medway’s Future” includes:
- A rail service that many rail consultants describe as not feasible and cannot take seriously.
- A spur road that will cut a swathe through Deangate Ridge for no other reason than to open up an area which is considered Medway’s best country park we don’t have.
- A flyover that will blight the homes and lives of hundreds of families in Wainscott.
- A development of 180 houses beside one of the busiest roundabouts in Medway at Frindsbury along with the remodelling of a Grade one listed barn.
- The proposed closure of a village school in Stoke despite parents wishes for this community school to remain open.
I wonder if “ Unlocking Medway’s Future “ actually means sacrificing Frinsbury, Wainscott and the Hoo Peninsula when in another statement made to the planning committee explained how despite the needs of the council to meet its housing targets, officers had concerns about the density of homes on the site, disruption of the views from Darland Banks, and the potential impact of the development on the residents living on the northern edge of the site.
800 houses in Capstone and a worry about density, 10,600 houses in Hoo and a decision being railroaded through.
It’s our choice so make your voice heard email your MP your Ward councillors and the leaders of Medway Council. They need to hear your opinion!
I believe that the Master planning and creation of local communities should be with the co-operation of the people living there so can invest and engage in the very neighbourhoods they live in.