The mini-estate sparked concerns about highways safety
An illustrative site layout of the 39 homes mini estate for a village in Kent(Image: Whitehall Homes LLP)
A developer has lost an appeal to build 39 homes in a tight-knit village in Kent. The outline planning application for the mini-estate in Leigh was rejected by Sevenoaks District Council.
And now a planning inspector has dismissed an appeal by Whitehall Homes against the council’s decision. The development was intended for a field south of Greenview Avenue.
It’s been more than three years to get to this point, with the application submitted in September 2022 and a hefty 144 documents added since. There is a well-used public footpath through an edge of the site, which takes people to the wider River Medway valley area.
It is within 0.5km of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to the west. The council rejected the scheme, which would have included 19 affordable homes, for reasons including harm to Green Belt; harm to the character and appearance of the surrounding area; and impact on the highways.
Leigh Parish Council lodged its “strong objection” in the appeal process. This included concerns about the construction traffic management plan, saying The Green, The Green Lane and Greenview Avenue, did not have the capacity “either physically or in terms of traffic flow” to handle the movements.
It said: “The applicant attempts to mitigate KCC’s concerns on vehicle movements by proposing to use smaller vehicles, but this will only increase the number of vehicle movements which will have a greater impact on safety, parking and congestion in the village and on the roads mentioned above.” It was also against the “temporary suspension of car parking on a small portion of The Green” during working hours of the construction period, which the developer said “would need to be agreed with KCC Highways”.
The council said residents and visitors would be “hugely impacted”. And one person whose relative lives on The Green Lane, said in one part of their objection: “The school is oversubscribed with local people failing to get their children in, necessitating car journeys.
“Therefore, more housing will create considerably more traffic at peak times. There is no longer a doctors’ surgery with the nearest one, Hildenborough, being oversubscribed.”
And of Green Lane, they said: “This path does not run the length of the lane, you have to keep crossing the road. The path is very narrow and overgrown.
“Tree roots and faults have made the narrow path inaccessible for wheelchairs, pushchairs and people with limited mobility and eyesight. People tend to walk in the road, which, as current traffic is limited and slow, maybe safer.
“Children, often unaccompanied, use the lane to walk to school or cycle to go and play on the Green.” Kent County Council’s director of highways and transportation in their four page response, said in one part: “In conclusion, I still have major concerns regarding construction vehicle access to the site without impacting on highway safety for other road users, and particularly along The Green (which has no footways for considerable lengths) and The Green Lane which has poor forward visibility in places and where it is essential that oncoming vehicles are able to see sufficiently to be able to pull up in time.”
Planning inspector Andrew Owen gave his conclusion at the end of his seven-page report: “Although the proposal would not be inappropriate in the Green Belt, would not be likely to harm the veteran oak tree, and would secure required contributions to affordable housing and the public rights of way network, it would compromise highway safety and I give considerable weight to the conflict with policy T1 in that regard.” T1 is a policy of the district council’s Allocations and Development Management Plan, which aims to ensure development “mitigates any adverse travel impacts” including safety.
The “veteran tree” is a large oak tree on the Village Green which is close to the road and overhangs The Green. There had been local concerns about its canopy being damaged by large construction vehicles.
Mr Owen said: “It would therefore conflict with the development plan taken as a whole. There are no other considerations, including the provision of the Framework and the other benefits set out above, that lead me to a conclusion other than in accordance with the development plan. As such the appeal is dismissed.”
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