The developer behind controversial plans for thousands of homes near Sittingbourne says “housing and growth can be a positive”.

Speaking at a virtual public consultation for the proposal for a Highsted Park ‘garden village’ south of Sittingbourne last week, Ben Geering, director of planning for Quinn Estates, said: “The air quality issues, the infrastructure needs, the difference in wealth between different parts of the borough haven’t gone away and what this proposal does, and what we are continually focused on throughout our work here, is that housing and growth can be a positive.

"If you only see things as a negative, you won’t see it as a way of delivering the benefits that are needed.”

He added: “We think that when looking as a whole, the need for housing, the need for infrastructure, and what this proposal delivers, there are significant benefits to the wider Swale area and to Sittingbourne in particular.”

As well as 9,250 new homes, the development proposes a new junction onto the M2, a new southern relief road and the completion of the northern relief road, four new primary schools, a secondary school, 520 acres of parks and outdoor space, a state-of-the-art sports hub for Sittingbourne FC and new primary care facilities.

Running through the “key elements” of the proposals, Mr Geering said the new M2 junction was “fundamental”.

He added: “There are over 100,000 people using that junction so what’s needed is an approach that provides for a new link road capacity.”

The Kent Science Park, which at the moment has more than 2,000 employees, serving more than 90 companies, is also “key for future growth”, he said.

“Yet the access is terrible, the connectivity to the station in the town centre is terrible and there’s a really big opportunity there to solve those problems.”

The team was also progressing the work on energy and sustainability, he said, and making sure the proposal “delivers all the community facilities you’d expect” of a development of this scale.

There were two online sessions on Tuesday last week where people were given an overview of the scheme and were able to ask questions on the project before plans are submitted to Swale council next month.

Mr Geering said: “Getting feedback from the public and stakeholders is extremely important as it shapes our final proposals and the digital format has meant we can continue to engage despite restrictions.

“The entire project team is passionate about what Highsted Park can deliver for Swale in terms of infrastructure, housing delivery, and job creation."

“The entire project team is passionate about what Highsted Park can deliver for Swale in terms of infrastructure, housing delivery, and job creation, so we want to progress the development as soon as possible.

"It’s also the only scheme coming forward in the borough that provides significant air quality benefits. We now look forward to compiling the feedback received from these public engagement sessions and finalising the submission of our planning application.”

Listen to the sessions at highstedpark.co.uk/webinar

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