An inquiry into 8,400 homes near Sittingbourne start today

KentOnline / KMTV

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00:00The first signs of spring blossoming in this quaint rural village, but little joy in Robinsham

00:07as more than 8,000 homes are planned for the land around this community.

00:11A 12-week planning inquiry is starting this week into the proposals which will transform

00:16the area.

00:17The developer arguing for its economic benefits, whereas hundreds of residents fear the end

00:22of rural life.

00:23We're not just NIMBYs.

00:24We do want to make sure there's housing provision for our community, but we do think we've got

00:29a really strong chance of pushing forward what are the many ecological landscaping and

00:33other factors that will make sure that we make sure the development is right and not

00:37just right here.

00:38What would the feel of the area be?

00:40Would it still be a village?

00:41I don't think we could call it a village at all.

00:43I think one of the things we're most worried about is that we will look off into the distance

00:45and what was once was the shadow of Robinsham Church and now we will see an M2 junction

00:51motorway.

00:52St Nicholas has been here since medieval times, the urban sprue of Sittingbourne getting ever

00:57closer.

00:59So we're at the top of Robinsham's Church right now.

01:01If the development does go ahead, what would we be able to see from up here?

01:06So over here would be thousands of houses all the way across the field here, all the

01:10way up to Dully.

01:11Over here would be sports facilities along with the Southern Relief Road, which weaves

01:16all around the villages here.

01:18This is not affordable housing what's being offered here.

01:21In the northern scheme, it's only about four and a half percent is going to be affordable.

01:25I mean, that's outrageous.

01:27It's a huge land grab, taking up huge swathes of some of our best agricultural land in the

01:32country.

01:33The development would see new schools, health centres and sports facilities and quinn estates

01:39as more than 50% of the site will be publicly accessible.

01:44This is the proposed plan for Highstead Park.

01:46You can see the balance of the eight and a half thousand homes with the country park

01:51as well in the middle.

01:53An incredibly controversial development.

01:55People living around Robinson don't like the idea of thousands of homes around them.

01:59However, down at the south, the Science Park and businesses could get a big boost.

02:05The Brickies are having one of the best seasons yet and believe Highstead Park could help

02:10them go from strength to strength.

02:12In the 70s we used to get good crowds and things like that and there's signs that it's

02:16coming back and it's a big population here now, over 60,000 in Sydenborne.

02:20So yeah, it's been fantastic.

02:23And on that, it could be about to get even bigger.

02:25Highstead Park development, going to Planning Inquiry, you guys are set to benefit from

02:29that aren't you?

02:30We are very much so.

02:32We've got over 40 teams, we need a bigger footprint, bigger site and this is going to

02:36be a school or a doctor's I think here.

02:39We're going to move nearer the motorway if the development goes through with 125 year

02:44lease for the community.

02:46Not for us, just for us, but we'll run it for them, but it'll be for the community.

02:49And it will benefit because the whole of this town is so far behind with its sports.

02:54I think even the two all-weather and three grass pitches we put in at the new stadium,

03:00we'd still be behind the requirement for the country for sports.

03:04They say the proposed relief road could greatly benefit the community and are calling for

03:08this to come first.

03:10It'll see a new junction from the M2 to Sydenborne.

03:13The key thing about this development is those houses pay for the road.

03:18They pay for other things as well, like primary schools, secondary schools, health centre,

03:21new football club, but they actually pay for the road.

03:24We all know the state the country's in at the moment with a lack of big infrastructure,

03:28but also how tight public finances are.

03:31Effectively, this is a great way potentially of using housing development to also build

03:36the infrastructure.

03:37And what really matters is we get the infrastructure first and that's what currently is being proposed

03:42by the developers.

03:43The developer has said the new road is chronically needed in the local area, but local environmental

03:49campaigners say it's not worth it as it'll cut through this ancient woodland.

03:54No-one really knows the full impact of what will happen when you do this.

03:57What we do know is it'll fragment their habitat, so it means that we'll get reduced gene pool

04:02for certain species, and if we fragment them too much, those particular species will die

04:07out altogether close to those areas because they haven't got enough habitat.

04:13Across the next 12 weeks, all these arguments and many more will be heard.

04:18It'll then be in the hands of the planning inspector to decide whether this land stays

04:23as it is, or if this huge development can go ahead.

04:27And if it's given the green light, it'll take two decades to complete.

04:33Gabriel Morris, in Sittingbourne.

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