Hello readers,
It’s a big one this week, as a controversial plan for 450 homes has just passed planning by Medway Council – I first wrote about this development back in June 2023. Based on Gibraltar Farm in Hempstead, despite all the odds (and 800 objections) the plan has been given the green light.
It’s an extremely controversial scheme which only passed due to the council having a lack of a local plan and high likelihood of a rejection being overturned at the appeal state (with Medway Council being forced to pay legal costs).
Interestingly, the history of this plot includes a rejection in 2021 on the grounds that a connecting walk and cycleway to Lordswood would harm local bat populations.
Since this, the council conducted further analysis and is now of the opinion that the proposed lighting required for the woodland pathway would not pose significant enough issues for the local wildlife to justify rejecting the development.
Planning officers highlighted that the ecological concerns were the sole reason for the previous application being turned down. As a result, the planning inspectorate would likely question why any new reasons for refusal had not been presented earlier.
They warned that if the committee were to refuse permission and the applicant lodged an appeal, the authority would probably lose and be compelled to cover the legal expenses for what would be deemed an “unreasonable refusal.”
Chief Planning Officer Dave Harris expressed his view that the council did not have solid grounds for refusal and noted that many of the council’s consultants would be unlikely to support a refusal if called to testify during an appeal.
It’s interesting that the lack of a local plan has somewhat helped force the council’s hand here
Hempstead ward councillor Andrew Lawrence (Con) explained that:
“My personal position and Councillor [Jim] Gilborne’s position as the ward councillors is accepting the reality these houses are going to be built, and yes, I think we should sell the ransom strip.”
“God, do the Labour Party need it to bail them out of the terrible financial mess that they’ve created since they took control of the council.”
“The reality is the North Dane Way solution is the best solution for the residents of Hempstead – it resolves a lot of the traffic issues and absolutely minimises the impact on residents.”
Interestingly, the council is in the process of putting a local plan together, so we might see it soon!
A peek at the scheme
This is a big scheme and you can find full details on the planning application here, but let’s take a look at some key details.
There isn’t a tremendous amount of detail in terms of the number of two bed, three bed, flats etc on the planning application – probably due to the scheme’s size – but the application outlines the types of property, so I have included them below.
As a general overview of the scheme style, the most interesting CGI I can find is this here.
It will be interesting to see how this scheme develops and when it comes to the council’s local plan, with mandatory housing targets being brought back in the local plan will be key to meeting those.
Just think, for Labour to meet its ambitious targets on housebuilding about two of these schemes would need to be completed every day for their first term. I will be delving into this in a separate blog, but I really do struggle to see it happening.
What does this development mean for investors? Well, it certainly shows how attractive Medway still is!
I’d be interested to hear if you had any thoughts yourself on this development and as usual, the best way to get in touch is through LinkedIn.
Hasan
