Two separate proposals, one for 450 homes and the other for 240, have been put before planners
Plans for 700 homes in the area have been put forward (stock image)(Image: PA)
Two large-scale developments totalling nearly 700 homes on the edge of a Kent village will be voted on next week.
Medway Council’s planning committee will decide whether to approve both a Taylor Wimpey application for 450 homes and a Gladman Developments Ltd proposal for a 240-home scheme, near Hoo St Werburgh.
But while councillors will have their say next Wednesday (April 8), the final decision will ultimately be made by government planning inspectors.
It comes after the developers appealed on grounds of non-determination with the bids, submitted on August 2023 and October 2024 respectively, still not decided on.
Planning officers from the towns’ authority have now recommended the Gladman proposal for 240 homes to be approved. However, the larger, 450-home plan from Taylor Wimpey is recommended for refusal.
The main reason given by officers was due the impact on the local landscape and how it would likely cause the separate villages of Hoo and Chattenden to merge.
It’s argued the proposals would deliver houses of varying sizes which are needed in Medway, and the negative impacts on wildlife and infrastructure could be overcome with developer contributions.
The application received 63 representations, with many objections from locals who raised concerns about increased pressure on healthcare services, schools already being at capacity, loss of green spaces, and more traffic jams.
Southern Water conducted a study of the potential impacts of the scheme and say there is an additional risk of sewage flooding from the added input from the new homes.
Kent Wildlife Trust also raised concerns of the impact of the new homes on local wildlife, particularly the introduction of pets, such as cats.
The application for the 450 homes, commercial spaces and a community use building was submitted in October 2024, and an appeal to planning inspectors was made in March.
Taylor Wimpey say the plans should have been decided in June or July last year but the authority has delayed and not provided feedback to the applicants.
In February, plans from Taylor Wimpey to divert a bus service through the new development were accused of being used to try and make the scheme sustainable by locals.
The Gladman scheme for 240 homes has been recommended for approval by officers, with conditions that 30% of the homes be affordable housing along with a possible £8.7m of developer contributions.
The report from officers says the development wouldn’t pose an unacceptable impact on the nearby habitats and would create a variety of needed homes in a “sustainable” location.
But it has also received 54 objections, with similar complaints about the strain on local resources, the loss of the village’s character, and the lack of public transport creating a reliance on cars and additional pressure on the road network.
The terms of the developers contributions are still under negotiation, but among the suggestions from Medway Council is up to £2.3m towards improvements to the Four Elms and Sans Pareil roundabouts and other roads.
Up to £4.2m could be required in order to increase capacity at nurseries, primary and secondary schools, and six forms for the Peninsula.
Gladman, a land promoter which gains planning permission for sites and then sells the land to builders, submitted their plans in August 2023 and said it should have been decided by December 2024.
It also appealed to planning inspectors in March.
