1,500 homes near Margate given go ahead
The development is going ahead despite fears it will not be properly served by public transport
Almost 1,500 homes have been approved on the edge of a town despite fears it will not be properly served by public transport.
Axis Land Partnerships applied to Thanet District Council (TDC) for permission to build up to 1,461 homes on land off Nash Road, Margate, in May 2023.
Calling the proposed estate Humbers Mill, they also asked permission to include a new two-form entry primary school and link road.
TDC’s planning committee met on April 16 to make the final call on the application.
Matthew Hare, planning director for Axis attended the meeting to speak in favour, telling members: “I’m pleased to say that 30% of those homes will be provided as affordable homes.”
With 22 hectares of open space proposed, much higher than TDC policies require, he said: “This will provide a huge social and environmental gain not only for the future residents of the scheme but also for those living in the surrounding area.”
Mr Hare also stressed £8 million would be contributed to Kent County Council’s North Thanet Link road project – earmarked for improvements to roads in the interior of Thanet.
A total of 15 representations against the application were received by TDC since the plans were submitted.
The site was allocated for 1,450 homes in TDC’s 2020 local plan – which governs the building of houses in the district until 2031.
Next to Manston Road and Manston Court Road, the site to be built on is mainly farmland, and is the size of about 92 football pitches.
Two barns are to be demolished to facilitate the widening and relocation of Nash Road.
Furthermore, the 1,161 homes on the estate accessed from Nash Road cannot be occupied until all the road works are completed.
Some councillors praised the bid, with Cllr Jill Bayford (Con) saying: “In my view it’s a very well designed development.
“Personally I would find it difficult to identify cogent planning reasons not to support this.”
Cllr Steve Albon (Lab) concurred, but added his concerns around the local NHS, saying: “We haven’t got enough doctors – the hospital is rammed.”
But Cllr Mike Garner (Green), however, stressed his fears that greenery and wildlife areas on the estate will not be well maintained.
“Some of those pictures you showed of the character areas – they looked like trees there which were about 40 years old so I don’t think any of us are going to see them,” he said, referring to the developers’ drawings.
“It can be quite misleading to show us these beautiful pictures with children playing in parks with massive trees on either side, these great big green areas everywhere – it would certainly stand out like a sore thumb next to the Star Lane industrial estate.”
Officers’ reports also note that “Stagecoach have confirmed they have no current plans for serving the site”, and instead the applicants have agreed to provide £960,000 to fund a shuttle bus service Mondays-Saturdays to Margate and Westwood for three years.
“We shouldn’t be developing large sites of thousands of houses where it’s very difficult for people to get on a bus or public transport – it just doesn’t work,” Cllr Garner added.
TDC voted to delegate authority to officers to approve the plans, subject to legal agreements, by nine votes to three.
As it was an outline planning application, Axis will have to return to TDC with further planning applications to determine the exact layout and design of the homes at the site.