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Plans for 200 new homes have been given the green light by councillors.
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey had its detailed application for properties in Stoke Road Business Centre in Hoo St Werburgh approved by 13 votes to one on Wednesday night (June 26), having already obtained outline planning permission in April 2018.
The discussion was mostly dominated by the 137 garages included in the scheme which do not meet Medway Council’s own parking standards because they are too small.
Cllr Diane Chambers (Con) said: “We’re being told it’s okay to have garages built that can’t be used as garages. I think that’s potty, to be frank. It’s either a garage that can take a car or it’s not a garage.”
The situation was described as a “strange” by Cllr Stuart Tranter (Con), who went on to say it was not “a major issue” because the estate still has a total of 367 parking spaces for residents and visitors.
Head of planning Dave Harris attempted to clarify that some vehicle types will still fit in the garages despite them failing to meet the required size.
He added: “It is able to take something like a Ford Focus, but it wouldn’t be able to take some of the bigger cars.
"We’re being told it’s okay to have garages built that can’t be used as garages. I think that’s potty, to be frank..." - Cllr Diane Chambers
“It doesn’t comply with our parking standards because we recognise people utilise their garages for other things, so that’s why our parking standards require a bigger space so there is space for both a car and storage.
“It will either take a car or storage – it won’t take both.”
The site, located next to the Church View housing development, will see 200 homes built on it ranging from one-bedroom flats to four-bedroom houses. 50 of these will be “affordable” as per the council’s requirements.
Cllr Chris Buckwell (Con) concluded: "It's the most bizarre site name – Stoke Road Business Centre – when it's simply fields.
"It's not dissimilar from the design, in broad terms, of what's on the other side of the road so it will relatively blend in."
