Plans submitted for 90 homes on former allotment site off Manston Road

How some of the homes could look Image Calyx Architecture

A planning application for 90 homes off Manston Road in Ramsgate has been submitted to Thanet council.

Westerhill Homes want to build 12 one-bed, 24 two-bed, 47 three-bed and 7 four-bed homes with 170 parking spaces, landscaping and play area.

The 2,2 hectare former allotment site, which has been renamed Manston Gardens, will include 27 units of (30%) affordable housing. The affordable housing mix consists of 9 one-bedroom, 12 two-bedroom and 6 three-bedroom and will be a mix of (social rent and shared ownership).

The site Image Calyx Architecture

The affordable homes will be in two ‘zones.’The first, on the southwest corner of the site abutts Manston Road and phase 2 of Manston Green. “Manston Place” will have 9 affordable rental flats, 1 affordable rental house and 8 shared ownership houses.

Zone 2,”Manston Court” lies to the rear of the site and will be home to 9 affordable rental flats of 1 and 2 bedrooms.

Two public consultation events for the proposals were held in December 2018 with just 13 visitors attending over the two days.

The site neighbours the Meridian village development and will also be close to the 785-home Manston Green development proposal which has had its first phase approved and plans for phase 2 submitted to council.

Sitting alongside Manston Green phase 1 and 2 Image Calyx Architecture

Planning documents for the development say: “The scheme seeks to respond to population growth and meet the demand for housing which the Council are currently unable to identify a supply.

“The proposals seek to provide a mix of housing tenures, as well as a mix of housing types and sizes to meet a wide range of housing needs. The scheme provides 30% affordable housing in accordance with the Council’s policies. The scheme provides high quality residential units for future occupants in respect of both living standards and amenity complying with defined space standards for new development.”

Image Calyx Architecture

The proposals also include significant amounts of new native landscape planting, including 74 new trees.

Documents state: “From the project’s inception, one key objective and aspiration was the emphasis on public open space, and the role it plays integrating residents within the community. Through a centrally located green space, the proposal seeks to provide a multi-use space for all residents and positively contribute to the contextual open spaces.

“Beyond this ‘focal’ public space there are a series of ‘pockets’ across the site, woven within the built elements to ensure breaks in the built mass and opportunities for landscaping.”

Plans for green space Image Calyx Architecture

Developers say biodiversity elements could include bird boxes, bat boxes, reptile/amphibian hibernacula within open spaces and integrated to new wall, a log pile for invertebrate, reptile and amphibians and  use of native planting.

Historically the site was used as allotments for the Newington and St Lawrence areas. More recently it was used as a storage and building facility for the adjacent Meridian village. Within the draft local plan from January 2015 the site was allocated for housing development for 61 dwellings.

Image Calyx Architecture

Beyond this time the site was sold to Kent Property Management & Developments at which point the allocation was removed. During the call for sites, it was again submitted for development and within the revised local plan now has an allocation of 80 units.

A decision is yet to be made on the application. Documents can be found on the Thanet council planning portal, reference F/TH/22/0573.

45 Comments

  1. Disgusting taking away allotments the plot holders had to leave and the land has stood empty for years.
    TDC have taken away over 1000 allotments in recent years so to cover theirselves they divide the allotments that are left into 2 telling the government they have the same amount as before.
    The allotment waiting list is being hidden from public eyes.
    There are hundreds of people waiting for an allotment and the council building on them should be challenged in court.

    • That’s the site that RTC lost £100K on, challenged up to the high court & lost!! Very expensive ex allotments 🙁

    • Depressing to see pictures of cars in Calyx’s images. Will there be bus routes and cycle lanes?

  2. scandalous ! what is going on around here – they are doing as they like. all of our services are stretched to the limit – now this

  3. The consultation took place over two days. Thirteen people turned up. Things might be different if all the keyboard warriors participated more in community life.

  4. Tony don’t make me laugh “consultations” about planning for houses are a fake event, thousands protesters about the stroke unit being moved to Ashford it all fell on deaf ears already the planners go through the motions play acting.
    Can you tell me how many are on the allotments waiting list. The councils are under a legal obligation to supply allotments under the ACT 1950

      • Make no difference who manages the Allotments all the council is interested in is the money not people’s well being.

  5. No it’s not all about immigration!

    It’s to do with people living longer and bigger families but hey blame immigration if it suits your needs!

  6. All new builds have small gardens I hope they have bigger ones but I doubt it … shame on you !

    • The plans above show minute gardens for many and none for some, probably the flats ! Families need gardens as a priority. Less than one tree per home planned also. This needs throwing out as it’s not fit but you can guarantee TDC officers will approve it. Thanet is fast becoming a concrete jungle.

  7. Disgraceful, How many local people need 3,4,and 5 bedroom houses let alone can afford them, This council needs to get real and think of all the destruction it is causing Still they dont need to worry. When the —- hits the fan and we have to rely on potatoes etc being imported because of the building developers and greed who will get the blame?

    • I can answer your question about 4-5 bed houses. Part of a Local Plan is adjusting or balancing the housing stock. In Thanet we have far too many flats compared with the present housing stock and very few 4-5 bed houses. Whether we need them is a different argument. This plan seems to go over the 35 per hectare & yes yet a gain tiny gardens and very few trees DISGRACEFUL + more weather boarding !!

  8. Well we have lived in Manstone Road Margatefor 55 years & the traffic ques along here for 2hours or more,the light @ coffin corner have ques.So it will only add too it.I joke with my grandchildern they will fly too school as the weight of traffic on roads

    • Your grand child could walk !

      Thanet is gridlocked twice aday with the school run. No problem in school holidays.
      Anyone else find it funny that green house gases etc are taught in school. Than the kids all get in their parents 4×4 to go home ?!
      I would say the kids arent that bothered save the world or get a lift home

    • Be part of the solution, not the problem.
      Get rid of your car, and use public transport instead

        • Most people don’t.
          I’m sorry for you that your lifestyle is so demanding that you absolutely must depend on the most environmentally damaging form of personal transport other than flying

          • Thank you! but as someone who lives in a little village and starts work at 6am in dover. There is no public transport from st nicholas at that time in the morning.

            Plus I need a car for my hobby of going up north every other weekend to follow my football team also for away matches around the country.

            So yes my life style is dependent on my car.

  9. Actually it changed the law and it did not cost £100,000, but it did cost a fair amount of cash.When I tell you that the evidence on the TDC side came from a now disgraced senior council official you can see what Thanet has to put up with in past decades.
    TDC do have allotments in Margate and the legislation covering allotments is the 1908 Smallholdings & Allotments act This same act requires that any money’s received to be spent on replacement allotments or improve existing allotments or pay off debt.TDC did none of that and instead pocketted the money.
    Looking back RTC should have concentrated on that area of law.
    Bill is right about other allotments acts but the 1908 act is the granddaddy legislation.
    As for losing, is Calyxes laughable bee boxes and log piles a win for anyone!
    TDC didn’t even get best value.They sold the land in an auction and got a lower price than a sale on the open market.
    Manston Road is a symbol all that is wrong with local govt.The public get a second rate cookie cutter estate,all the value has been transferred to the private sector and all the problems are left with the community in Ramsgate.

    • I agree, and the birds and bat boxes are going to make a big difference, so everyone gets a home out of this ,a great number of rental properties here that will reduce the council waiting list, joking 😀

    • Reply to Mr X. You can get to the north of Britain by train. So, no- for some aspects of your lifestyle, there is no need to be dependent on your car.

          • Marva Rees

            Why blinkered

            I worked hard all my life, I dont drink, smoke, take drugs, gamble I am not in debt to anyone.

            My vice is following my football team around the country its not my fault public transport doesnt cater for my needs.
            Have you tried getting back from Manchester at 11pm to ramsgate ? Let alone trying to get back on a sunday at say 7pm.

            If public transport worked for me and was cheap I would use it until than I’ll use my car.

        • A train is very often a quicker and cheaper alternative to driving.
          Apart from the obvious advantages wrt climate change, train travel is far, far less stressful than driving (you can go to sleep) and you can have a beer or six.
          But if you insist that you absolutely must drive a car, then you cannot deny that argument to folk moving into the area.

          • There are at least two options to get you home from Manchester to Thanet on a Sunday after 19:90, the quickest just over 4 hours.

  10. I am angry can’t say what I really think suffice it to say I will be objecting to this daft proposal 🤔

  11. Lots of people want to live here because, despite all the issues, it is still a great place to be. But then due to over-development / badly-planned developments, they find out it’s becoming ‘just like everywhere else’: congested, bland, lacking in green space, seriously lacking in services. I’m stating the bleeding obvious, of course.
    When I think of councillors who know this area, often have a long history here and are meant to be serving the people of Thanet who nonetheless cynically manipulate every fact & figure to swamp it with ugly, expensive, environmentally damaging housing … well, I just feel helpless with rage.
    How DO we challenge and protest this?

    • Too late! Some years ago, we had a draft Local Plan; a plan that used an older version of the government’s algorithm for calculating housing need. This LP allowed for development on the ex airfield at Manston.
      But this LP was rejected by UKIP and Tory councillors, resulting in the mess we now have.

    • Let’s hope Cllr Ashby is true to her word and challenges the government on housing numbers rather than just playing more Vicar of Dibley politics to get a good soundbite for the elections next May.

  12. Blinkered because you seem to think that football is more important than the environment.

    • It is… a great man once said that ‘football is not a matter of life or death… its far make important than that’

      Just saying…!

  13. F/TH/22/0573 to comment. I do wonder if Lovetts and the developers know about the pending DCO for Manston Airport?

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