Councillors at a planning meeting next week will discuss a reserved matters application for the first phase of a 214 home development on agricultural land in Minster.
Outline planning permission for the scheme was granted permission in September 2021 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 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.
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.
Councillors will now discuss the layout of development, its scale and appearance, and the landscaping for the first phase, for 133 homes. Updated plans now provide six 1-bed flats, two 2-bed flats, eighteen 2-bed houses, seventy-two 3-bed houses, and thirty-five 4-bed houses.
Each property will have two parking spaces and there will be an additional 40 visitor spaces plus one electric charging point per dwelling.
Some 49 letters of objection have been received and concerns have been raised by Minster Parish Council. Issues include a lack of response to comments raised by residents at the public consultation; potential impact from flooding; overlooking; traffic congestion; not enough smaller affordable units; lack of access to healthcare and schools; impact on wildlife and habitats and unsafe roads.
Minster Parish Council adds: “The Parish Council are pleased to see affordable units in the centre of the development, but consideration does not appear to have been given to the rural housing needs survey that was carried out.
“There are only two 1-bed ground floor flats in the application. Housing aimed at “downsizing” older residents are welcomed, particularly if this releases existing family social housing in the village;
“A local lettings plan needs to be agreed with the housing association who buy/take on the affordable housing to ensure that the houses are offered initially to those with a connection to Minster and then the surrounding villages.”
Monkton Parish Council also raises concerns including the lack of detail in the construction plan.
Kent County Council says: “We would expect the character of the Bridleway to be retained. On plans provided, the hedgerow on the Western / field side of TE29 appear not to be shown and we require confirmation that this would not be the case. The Bridleway must remain on existing alignment as previously advised.”
The bridleway connects the A299 to the north with Prospect Road to the south. The proposed site layout did not originally show the bridleway on the plans, or connections to the bridleway from within the site. Amended plans have been submitted showing the location.
A report to councillors says: “Concern has been raised by residents that this is an ancient bridleway and should be protected. Whilst it is appreciated that the ditch does offer some visual benefits, it is not usable as a bridleway in its current condition, and therefore the benefits of infilling and resurfacing the ditch so that it can be used by pedestrians, cyclists wishing to connect onto the existing cycle path along the A299, and horse riders, is in officers view considered to outweigh the visual harm resulting from the infilling of the ditch. Furthermore, these works have already been approved through the outline application.”
The applicant has made a further submission of plans that includes two options for the bridleway. Option A retains the existing location of the bridleway, but involves its widening to 3m and resurfacing, with pedestrian and cycle connections into the site. Option B does not involve any widening of the bridleway, so it could not be used by horses, but the plan submitted shows that the bridleway could still be connected into the site, with some excavation works to provide sloped paths to connect onto the bridleway with retaining walls.
KCC also notes a temporary reptile receptor site will be in a cemetery extension area and will be used for at least 2 years while the grassland habitat in the north of the site has established and can support reptiles.
KCC recommends a diversion for a footpath currently proposed so it avoids the Skylark and turtle dove mitigation area.
The application has been called to planning committee by Cllr Abi Smith, to allow members to consider the impact on highway safety, and the ratio of affordable housing and by Cllr Reece Pugh, to consider the impact on the living conditions of residents in Fairfield Road, and the changes to the path adjacent to Greenhill Gardens.
In 2021 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.
Planning officers recommend members to approve the latest application.
The meeting takes place on June 14 from 7pm.
