WITH Kent witnessing an unprecedented level of house building and with tens of thousands more homes to come, how can the county avoid creating a string of identikit towns? In an exclusive article for the Kent Messenger Group, Graham Gibbens, the Kent County Council’s cabinet member for regeneration, sets out how the challenge can be met and how he wants developers to create a new generation of memorable buildings for the county.

Kent is unique in having many medium-sized towns but no one major city like Bristol or Manchester.

Our biggest town, Maidstone, has a population of about 86,000. That’s just a fifth of the population of Manchester. I believe Kent’s urban geography presents us as a county council with special challenges and opportunities.

Kent’s towns are growing. By 2031, for example, Ashford will have doubled its population. I am determined to ensure that Kent does not become a series of identikit towns or be seen as just part of a 'City Region’ east of London.

Kent has its own strong identity that we should be proud to celebrate. Canterbury, for example, has 1000 years of history and we must move to the future while preserving that rich heritage. Our towns must stay safe places in which to live, work and play. That is more likely to be achieved when their growth has been well-managed.

I am uneasy about the potential for a growing uniformity of housing developments and the wider impacts that poorly designed developments could have on our local economies and communities.

New housing developments must be real communities that look and feel good to those who live there and attractive to those relocating to Kent as our economy grows.

I believe that community engagement in the design process is critical. KCC is involving the local communities where new housing developments are planned through 'Inquiry by Design Workshops,’ allowing people to have their voices heard.

The aim of the Kent Design Guide is to assist those building our future housing estates to be more aware of the issues they must consider. Our design team advises on ensuring new developments cater for a mix of age ranges and incomes and are quality buildings with the minimum environmental impact.

We need developers with a passion and enthusiasm for quality who will lead by example and encourage memorable modern development that adds to Kent’s distinctive character.

I am pleased we have an increasing number who feel and act like this and we have a growing number of examples of award-winning designs in the county.

The bottom line of profit must not be allowed to get in the way of high quality imaginative development that is sympathetic to its surroundings. Good developers need to think longer term, beyond immediate profits towards building places where people will still want to live in 20 years time.

We are working closely with developers to ensure they pay their fair share when it comes to paying for schools, roads and other vital community facilities when new houses are built.

I am passionate about ensuring developers shape Kent towns in a way of which we can all be proud. In Ashford, I welcome the planned 'learning quarter’ centred around a new South Kent College Campus, that will help revitalise the town centre along an improved two-way ringroad. Ashford has a unique chance to change the way a town works by offering a range of lifestyle and living choices, encouraging excellence in environmental design, water efficiency and greater emphasis on public transport. It can be a model smart town for the future.

Clearly, the public sector has an important role to play in building infrastructure that works well. There are good examples where developers are thinking longer term by building houses that take seriously water conservation and management. Housing developments will put pressure on water supplies in the County and I believe that we can only handle this growth if we have a culture change in the way people think about and use water.

Quality housing with minimum environmental impact is just one of more than 60 targets we have recently set. I will do my very best to achieve that and ensure Kent’s rich heritage is conserved and enhanced for future generations.”