Fresh wave of objections lodged over application for first phase of 214 home development in Minster

Housing plan for Minster (Image David Wilson Homes/Carlton Design Partnership)

Dozens of objections have been lodged against a reserved matters application for the first phase of a 214 home development in Minster.

Outline planning permission for the scheme was granted permission last September despite councillors’ concerns over traffic, school places, adequate medical facilities and the number of houses on the site.

The total application area is 34.67 acres, with proposed residential development and associated open space and services on approximately 32.27 acres and a reserve site of 2.40 acres proposed for the future extension to Minster Cemetery.

The development site Photo Minster’s Future Matters

The land on the west side of Tothill Street, Minster, is owned by St. John’s College Cambridge and Spanton Farms Limited. The site is on a Special Protection Zone.

Now Savills has lodged the latest documents with Thanet council on behalf of Barratt David Wilson Homes for 133 dwellings, including details of layout, scale, landscaping and appearance. The first phase is the northern area of the site and covers 9.96Ha of land. It will be accessed via a new junction onto Tothill Street.

The development has provoked new objections with concerns including the loss of Grade 1 agricultural land, loss of habitat, traffic congestion and overlooking. There are also concerns about design of the homes and complaints of inadequate consultation, missing documents and lack of a construction plan.

Minster Parish Council has not raised an objection but said several matters, including biodiversity and the differing affordable accommodation needs, should be considered.

(Image David Wilson Homes/Carlton Design Partnership)

Last year councillors raised concerns that there would not be sufficient school places at Minster and the plan for new youngsters in the village to go to a proposed Manston Green primary school was inadequate with the risk that that school may not be built in time – or at all.

Councillors also raised concerns that traffic mitigations to add an extra lane at the Tothill roundabout and pay £166,000 for junction work at Spitfire Way were not adequate to cope with a possible 200-300 more vehicles trying to enter and exit the village.

Photo by Minster’s Future Matters

Some amendments have been made to the scheme including the materials used and moving plot 108 further back from Tothill Street.

Concerns raised by Minster Action Group, set up the fight the development proposal, include changes to the height of houses and drainage ditches, the surface water design for the site, and work taking place on site before a biodiversity method statement has been approved.

A call to resident by the group says: “This site will be built over many years and will be nothing like the village has ever seen before in terms of impact on quality of life for all of us and we need to send a clear message via our comments that although we cannot stop the build, we care enough about our fellow villagers to demand that the design of the site is the best it can be, looking out for the best interests of everyone and that community engagement starts before the first piece of earth is dug.”

The documents can be seen on Thanet council’s planning portal under reference R/TH/22/1393

22 Comments

  1. Will all the houses have solar panels fitted as standard? So that the bulk of the energy used is generated by the house itself?
    Will the insulation be of the highest standard ,to reduce the need for extra heating ?
    Will there be genuinely affordable dwellings included on the site?
    Will trees and hedges planted on site ,to offset the loss of wildlife habitat ,be properly maintained for the first 5 years after planting? Or just allowed to wither away in the summer drought?
    If there are any doubts about these issues, then Planning permission should be denied.
    If the building is allowed to go ahead, then local councillors will be proving that they have no interest in reducing global warming. And they should stop pretending that they are concerned. Because they will not be using the actual powers they possess to do something about it.

    • Solar as standard (enough for consumption now and future proof it too with the introduction of more EVs), air source heat pumps, insulated beyond Building Regs, triple glazed, EV charge point, rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing.

      If we have to build more houses in these locations, let’s at least make them as sustainable as possible.

      BTW, driving through Minster is a pain in the butt now – Tothill Street junction with Monkton Road is a real hotspot for traffic.

    • I agree with you in every respect. There is also huge problem with schooling and health if the Minster Surgery and the local schools cannot cope with the extra numbers of people and children, as well as the need to upgrade the water and sewage needs for such a development, and the increased need for better roads and traffic management. Do NOT let Thanet District Council take over these important decisions….Minster residents MUST let their feeling be published.

  2. Agree with Keefoghs, and add water management. Will there be rainwater harvesting, porous driveways and hardstanding, ground source heat pumps? These should be mandatory for all new build. Unfortunately councillors don’t have much power, they can call in the application and vote against it but the developer will just appeal to the Secretary of State who is bound to approve it, because developers pay more money to the government than do the villagers.

    • All the while we are importing tens of thousands of people into the country every year, we need to continue to build thousands of houses to accommodate them . . .

      We cannot hang out the banners saying, ”Refugees welcome here” and then not provide them with decent housing.

      • It is a vicious circle we allow 40,000 people into the UK in one year. They need housing as they know is their right. This reduces on the number of affordable homes to existing residents. At present the UK Government is doing an Angela Merkal of Germany. By opening the borders this created a flood gate and has created one potentially for the UK.

        • The government hasn’t “opened the borders”. It plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, as a deterrent. It’s clearly not working!
          Since we left the EU, the government has had no lawful mechanism to remove Assylum seekers. It did when we were a member.

  3. John and R, you may be interested to know that more people are leaving this country than are arriving in it (maybe something to do with the appalling mess that the Conservatives have created over the last 13 years). We’ve been welcoming incomers for 1000s of years to our country’s great benefit.

    • Net migration to the UK was 239,000 in 2021. 573,000 people entered and 334,000 people left.

      Source – House of Commons Library.

  4. This is becoming ridiculous! Has anyone tried to drive around Westwood lately, and that’s before Aldi opens. The area is totally saturated. Who are these houses for? Certainly not locals, more out of towners commuting I presume as Thanet is an area of high unemployment?
    I’d love to move back into Broadstairs, but inflated prices have now put it totally out of reach. Don’t even get me started on schools, health services etc!

  5. Thanet has become gridlocked with all the houses extra people extra cars yet cannot house local residents, what is affordable housing is it rentals? probably not, who can afford to get a mortgage on the wages in Thanet and why would they want to get into so much debt the way interest is going up, what we need is rental properties at affordable prices, oh and do not start me off about building on land that was used to grow crops.Sorry but this country has gone mad

  6. Plenty more cheap land in thanet, ready and waiting for developers. Thats if the land is not already landbanked.

    Traffic congestion usually comes up as an objection but surely if there are to many vehicles on the roads then speed will fall down to around 20mph. 20 is plenty.

    All sorted.

  7. The building standards remain the same.They were last changed in 2015.
    Affordable is a weasel word.In fact it means 70/80% of market price whether to rent or to buy.If the market rent or freehold rice is very high, those on average incomes will not be able to rent or buy, hence the skyrocketing housing benefit bill.
    If you want to see the benefits budget figure plummet then support the following:

    1. Build social housing and charge 30% of average wages as a rent.
    2. Build well insulated housing with solar panels, grey water systems etc.
    3.Build using prefab construction with fascias altered to suit the built environment.This will produce housing quickly and oif built well will last 60 years with low maintenance.
    4.Stop building car dependent ‘cookie cutter’ estates.
    5. Boost training on how to build these houses and to operate the transport system that serves them, instead of allowing 1000’s of able young men to moulder away in ‘hotels’ because the Home Office IT system is so dysfunctional.
    6. Stop moaning about change, insist that change works for everyone.

  8. There is a grievous shortage of quality social housing in the U.K. Why aren’t the developers held to task? If, there is a social housing component to any project it should be 50 percent social housing. If the developers agree, and don’t live up to the parameters of the agreement, or desire to alter the arrangement the contract should be cancelled. The developers promise surgeries and schools and green spaces. Let these be started before the foundation to any house is built . The general public feels powerless to affect change to this disastrous and smothering degree of development. No wonder people are so cynical about all levels of politics, and the ability to impact change. I imagine, most aren’t against development, but the unrelenting and autocratically mandated nature of the rampant housing development in the south east should be a concern to all.

  9. I was born and bred in Thanet. I left in 2020 at the age of 60. I had enough of living in a deprived area, poor school and hospitals. When they decided to cover it in housing without considering the infrastructure and jobs for people that was the last straw. My sons, wives and grandchildren all packed up and left in search of a better future. None of us regret leaving.

  10. Hi Kathy Bailes,

    I appreciate your detailed article on the development proposal for Minster village.

    I agree that changes to the height of houses and drainage ditches, and surface water designs for the site should be considered.

    Moreover, I think it is essential that community engagement starts before any piece of earth is dug so that everyone has a say in how they want their area to look and function.

    I also believe traffic mitigations at the Tothill roundabout and Spitfire Way needs to be adequate to cope with a potential increase in cars entering and leaving the village.

    It is also essential to consider whether there will be sufficient school places when building more homes in an area.

    After all, education is an essential factor when raising a family.

    What I particularly like about this article is that you have provided valuable solutions to the problem.

    You have suggested that residents demand the best design possible and ensure proper community engagement before any work occurs.

    I think these are great points and something all communities should strive for, especially when so much is at stake.

    Overall, I want to thank you for writing such an informative post and providing insight into this critical issue.

    It was fascinating to read about Minster village and its proposed development plans.

    Keep up the great work!

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