Have all the key components of the Councils plans already failed?
9
Aug
Very shortly you will be able air your views on the future of Swale as the Borough Council commences the third in a series of consultations on 19th August for a period of 6 weeks ending on 30th September.
Previous known as the ‘Core Stragey’, ‘Bearing Fruits’ and ‘Pick Your Own’ it is now to be known simply as the Local Plan, thank God for plain English.
Rather amusingly depending on your tolerance of such things, it would appear that outside of the decision to run with the lower of the two housing targets, and a reduction of their employment targets, little else has changed.
You might recall if you took an interest previously that the Borough Council had bet its shirt on a handful of large projects to deliver the core of their strategy, namely the Port of Sheerness, the Kent Science Park, the Southern Relief Road and the regeneration of Sittingbourne Town Centre.
Now a couple of years down the line Vestas has pulled out of their wind turbine plant, Tesco has pulled the plug on the town centre plans and the Kent Science Park has stalled meaning that, the Kent Science Park expansion, the Southern Relief Road which the Council has tied to the Science Park and the Port of Sheerness have all been side-lined as an ‘Area of Future Change’ meaning that they are no longer part of the strategy for the next 18 years.
With regards to the town centre I see that the Council is to seek views on what to do now that Tesco has pulled the plug.
So realistically all the key components of their strategy have either failed or are undeliverable within the timeframe of the plan and that includes the implausible high end housing and employment options.
Interestingly I note that although the number of potential jobs likely to be created has been reduced, all the employment land options remain in tack. The oversupply of employment land didn’t work well in the current local plan where Swale topped the charts of Kent boroughs in land supply, but didn’t manage to generate the jobs promised which led to wasteful low density developments.
Obviously these are only my own opinions, so let me know what you think, or better still join in the consultation and let Swale Borough Council know.
Andy Hudson
Sittingbourne.Me
Previous known as the ‘Core Stragey’, ‘Bearing Fruits’ and ‘Pick Your Own’ it is now to be known simply as the Local Plan, thank God for plain English.
Rather amusingly depending on your tolerance of such things, it would appear that outside of the decision to run with the lower of the two housing targets, and a reduction of their employment targets, little else has changed.
You might recall if you took an interest previously that the Borough Council had bet its shirt on a handful of large projects to deliver the core of their strategy, namely the Port of Sheerness, the Kent Science Park, the Southern Relief Road and the regeneration of Sittingbourne Town Centre.
Now a couple of years down the line Vestas has pulled out of their wind turbine plant, Tesco has pulled the plug on the town centre plans and the Kent Science Park has stalled meaning that, the Kent Science Park expansion, the Southern Relief Road which the Council has tied to the Science Park and the Port of Sheerness have all been side-lined as an ‘Area of Future Change’ meaning that they are no longer part of the strategy for the next 18 years.
With regards to the town centre I see that the Council is to seek views on what to do now that Tesco has pulled the plug.
So realistically all the key components of their strategy have either failed or are undeliverable within the timeframe of the plan and that includes the implausible high end housing and employment options.
Interestingly I note that although the number of potential jobs likely to be created has been reduced, all the employment land options remain in tack. The oversupply of employment land didn’t work well in the current local plan where Swale topped the charts of Kent boroughs in land supply, but didn’t manage to generate the jobs promised which led to wasteful low density developments.
Obviously these are only my own opinions, so let me know what you think, or better still join in the consultation and let Swale Borough Council know.
Andy Hudson
Sittingbourne.Me
Comments
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With the new houses being built around town bringing in more people with more money to spend the council are not bright enough to realise that money could be spent in town. The only money I spend in sittingbourne is shopping, no more. I dont have kids however I enjoy socialising, going to the cinema, eating a nice meal none of which I can do in my own town. The council need to open their eyes and start putting the people first not their old grey miserable selves.