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Campaigners have hit out at proposals for a 1,400-home “mini-town” on the Lower Road at Minster on the Isle of Sheppey.
Retired civil engineer David Orpin says his research proves there is already ample space for the 1,400 homes Swale council has to build on the Island without the need for fresh land.
Father and son farmers Stephen and James Attwood from SW Attwood and Partners have plans for a 'green development' alongside the Lower Road - one of the busiest routes on the Island - which they call Sheppey ZeroC.
They say it could be a one-off solution to meeting the council's housing target.
Swale council currently has its own 'Option C' for its new Local Plan which will put 800 homes on Rushenden Marshes, add up to 500 homes by converting holiday parks into residential sites and create between 100 to 200 new dwellings by regenerating Sheerness town centre.
Retired newspaper editor David Jones, one of the Island's representatives on the Swale branch of countryside charity CPRE (formerly the Campaign to Protect Rural England) described the Attwoods' project as “insanity.”
He said: “Not insanity for the landowners and developers, of course, because they will pocket millions leaving the local community to pick up the pieces. But insanity for everyone else.”
The CPRE was among the 200 objectors to the original planning application.
David Orpin of Minster Road and also a member of CPRE’s Swale branch, said: "It’s quite clear from my research that the Attwoods’ project is totally unnecessary. Space on existing sites not yet fully developed can accommodate around 1,450 more dwellings, completely negating the need for any more sites.
“All sorts of promises are being made about infrastructure improvements as part of the Attwoods’ proposal but Swale council has a bad track record of ensuring such promises actually happen. Thistle Hill is a good example where road improvements were promised but never happened. The council is far too soft on developers.”
He has identified space for 219 homes at Thistle Hill, Minster; 91 in Plover Road, Minster; 80 at Barton's Hill Drive, Minster, and 1,060 as part of the Queenborough and Rushenden regeneration project.
Mr Orpin added: “The council has always significantly under-estimated the number of dwellings in its Local Plan. Sheppey simply doesn't need any more housing sites for the council to meet its planning obligations. The Island’s roads are already ridiculously congested. Any more housing will only make things worse.”
David Jones said the Attwoods "probably believe" they can do anything following a planning victory over Swale council to get 700 homes on the greenfield site at the bottom of Barton Hill Drive.
He said: “Attwoods' statement is full of planning buzzwords like ‘critical mass’ and ‘carbon neutral' but I hope readers will already have noticed the use of the words “could be” in relation to the alleged benefits the project would include."
He said the creation of a large village or small town at the bottom of Barton Hill Drive would have a catastrophic impact on local roads.
He said: “Barton Hill Drive is already heavily congested because of the Thistle Hill development.
"It will become a nightmare for residents living in it with a population increase of around 3,000-plus at the bottom of the road with thousands of more cars trying to use the Island's roads which already grind to a halt at peak times.
"Just imagine the queues at the roundabout at the Neats Court retail park.
“Whatever the Attwoods’ may claim, whatever carrots they may dangle in an attempt to get their proposals approved, the people of Sheppey know the reality is that it will all end with a load more traffic and an unacceptable strain on the Island's infrastructure.
“Developers will promise anything to get their proposals approved but carefully avoid mentioning the wider impact on communities or, in this case, the fact that there are zero jobs available on the Island. It will simply lead to thousands more cars pouring off Sheppey every morning.”
