Broadstairs and St Peter’s residents have set up a campaign group to fight proposals for development in the Reading Street Road area.
An outline application has been submitted to build 74 homes on 5.06 hectares of agricultural land to the north of Reading Street Road and west of Convent Road.
The land, which is in a Green Wedge area and is in farming use, is being proposed for development by Land Allocations Ltd.
If approved it will mean some 116 new properties within less than a quarter of a mile of each other, with the other approved developments being 18 flats at the Kingsgate College site and 24 homes at the Club Union site in Reading Street.
Documents produced for the applicant by AAH Planning Consultants say: “The proposal will offer a high-quality development, contributing a mix of housing stock to the existing settlement in a manner that would complement and enhance the character and setting of the local area, whilst remaining compatible with the surrounding land uses.
“In particular, the proposal is considered to provide a number of opportunities afforded by the site location. These include the contribution to the expansion of Broadstairs and St Peter’s through the introduction of much-needed residential properties in a sustainable location which responds to whilst contributing and enhancing the local built character and improving the ecological value of the site.”
Access to the site is proposed to be from Convent Road. Details of the properties are not yet submitted as the application is outline only. If accepted a fuller, more detailed plan would be submitted.
Residents have formed a Fight the Reading Street Road Development! group and say the scheme should be refused.
Resident and former councillor Jenny Matterface said on behalf of the group: “Residents are up in arms over an outline planning application on prime farmland between Reading Street Road, Beacon Road and Convent for up to 74 houses.
“This site is in the Green Wedge and does not fulfil the criteria for permission to be given.
“One access to the site from Convent Road will add further traffic congestion along these already busy roads.
“The approved schemes for Kingsgate College and the Club Union site with this extra location means over 100 houses could be built very close to each other.
“Reading Street is regularly gridlocked. Beacon Road is always busy and Reading Street Road is used as a rat run between Cliftonville and Broadstairs.
“An additional concern is the lack of pavements in the area putting pedestrians at risk. This scheme should be refused.”
A number of objections to the development have been lodged with Thanet council with one saying it would be “a travesty” to allow it to go ahead.
A decision is yet to be made on the plans which can be viewed on Thanet council’s planning portal, reference OL/TH/21/0941
long time coming about time they caught up with the rest of Thanet
All roads are busy in Thanet some more than others and green wedges mean nothing to this council the number of houses proposed are not 2000 or 1600 so they would be hardly life changing then again it is Broadstairs and the people of said town must not be offended take your share like the rest of us.
they wont be happy until they built on every bit of spare land in thanet – its all about the greed of these developers – they could not care less who they walk all over
At a public consultation regarding the local housing plans some fifteen years ago,I discussed the overbuilding in and around Thanet with a very pleasant gentleman, who represented TDC, and I told him then they would not be happy until they had drawn a line from Birchington down to Sandwich and completely infilled it with houses decimating Grade 1 agricultural land along the way.
Unfortunately, I believe I underestimated my projection quite considerably. TDCs reputation, in general, is dubious but when it comes to planing, well I would rather not put it down in writing, suffice to say that it has been suggested that TDCs planing department would give a cow pat planning permission if they thought they could get council tax from it.
The good people of The Isle of Thanet are well and truly hacked off with TDC and have learned that protest is futile as they are always ignored, and of course the unelected officers in their ivory tower certainty do not help with there you can’t touch me attitude. Shame on all of you, remember the word KARMA.
1) Don’t vote Tory.
2) Don’t vote for political parties that obstruct a perfectly reasonable Local Plan.
Od dear.
Too late.
Your right Phylis, its down to Johnson’s Tory government that legislated to build thousands and thousands of new builds, nation wide! They have just lost an election overturning a 16,000 Tory majority to the Lib Dems, why? My news says its because of the proposed Tory changes to the Planning Laws, said to make it easier for developers to build on green land. Duurh!
About time TDC manned up against these developers getting their hands easily on any bit of spare and not spare ground to develop with even more houses that are unaffordable to most except those moving out of London. We don’t need these houses in Thanet just to bring more people in. Tell them to build council houses for local residents and see what they say! The green wedges should not be allowed to be built on anyway.
The club union site will make an ideal place for a permanent Traveller site
No thanks
Give you JUPITER
Floods planes. Costal erosion. Climate change. Who cares when money to be made? Look at environment agency predictions for our lovely coastline. Time to find a high altitude property.
When you have the head of planing and the chair of the planning committee working hand in hand Broadstairs & St Peters residents have no chance of winning.
If you voted conservative in the election, you can’t complain.
I agree with Nick. Vote Tory and this is what you get..greed and corruption handing out green spaces to their rapacious chums who then hand huge sums of money to Tory councillors and MP members.
David do you honestly believe Labour are any better?
David W do you really believe Labour would be any different?
David W I’ll take it the answer is no then?
I do.
You would Marva Rees
No, it means more traffic congestion, pressure on schools, hospital and GP surgeries.
It’s not who is in power it’s who offers the biggest backhander!!!!
No to all these houses on green land, we do not have enough doctors,hospital,schools and places to grow food. As well as all the extra traffic.