1,650 New Homes for Birchington

1,650 New Homes for Birchington
The Thanet District Local Plan, adopted by Thanet District Councillors in July 2020, allocates
over 75 hectares (about 187 acres) of best and most versatile farmland for 1,600 new
homes to the north and south of Brooksend Hill.
Birchington Parish Council (the Council) does not support this aspect of the Local Plan and
does not accept that this many homes is sustainable or necessary to meet the future needs
of Birchington; it is opposed to development on prime agricultural land.
However, the Council recognises that unless the Plan is changed by TDC or government
policy it must seek to ensure that the development of these new homes is managed to
minimise their impact on the village and surrounding areas.
An outline planning application for the new homes which sets out the general proposals and
features for the long term development of the site has been received by Thanet District
Council (TDC) and is now out for public consultation until 19th February 2021.
All matters in the application except access are ‘reserved’, in other words subject to change.

What does the application say about houses?
The proposal is to build 1,650 new
homes together with other facilities
over a period stretching out to 2034.
If approved, the land would be
divided into 6 segments and
development phased through to
2034.
Work would begin during 2022 in two
areas to the south of Brooksend Hill,
one behind Broadley Avenue the
other off Park Lane behind the
allotments and Brunswick Road.
That would be followed by work beginning during 2024 to the north behind the Fishbone
Grill in the direction of the railway line, and development behind King Edward Road to
complete building on the southern side by 2031.
Later, more works would complete development towards Gore End Farm and the medical
practice.

What about Affordable Housing?
It is estimated that there is need in Thanet for 47% of planned new builds to be Affordable
Housing; TDC requires that 30% of new builds are affordable unless the developer can show
they would be ‘demonstrably unviable’.
The developer does not commit to meeting this requirement, instead it says that subject to
financial viability, up to 30% of the residential units would be Affordable Housing, it goes on
to say that design and specification of the Affordable Housing and its surrounding areas
would be similar to that of the housing for private sale.

What else is proposed?
The developer has included
plans for 27 hectares of Public
Open Space, foot and cycle
paths, allocations of land for a
2 form entry primary school, a
retirement home and
expansion at the medical
centre. A small convenience
store and community hub are
also included.
Most of these amenities are
planned for location on the
north site and would start
taking shape later in the
programme, from 2026
onwards.
A two part ‘link road’ or by pass is proposed from Minnis Road to the Canterbury Road and
from the Canterbury Road through to Park Lane.
The link road to Park Lane is planned to open first, during 2026 when development on the
south site is well advanced. The second section would come into use from 2030.

Are the proposed facilities in the right place?
To some extent this is subjective and a matter of personal judgement.
For instance, it makes sense to have good access to the proposed primary school, so
locating it next to the Canterbury Road might be a good idea but is it good to encourage
pupils and parents to walk or cycle rather than drive? And what about KCC and TDC studies
showing that traffic on Canterbury Road is already heavy and the air quality is poor?
Another example, access to the convenience store next to the Fishbone Grill would be
handy for drivers but does it benefit the community to have another outlet within a few
hundred metres of an existing store and filling stations?
The majority of community facilities are proposed for inclusion in Phase 2A which would not
be completed until 2031, when about 1,000 of the new houses would be in place. Should

the location and timing of provision of facilities be changed? Should some of the proposed
phases be smaller and/or rescheduled?

How would facilities in the village be improved?
In addition to allocations of land for a primary school, a retirement home and at the medical
centre, the developer has offered to make some financial contributions.
The sums are yet to be agreed, payments are usually ‘one off’ or non-recurring
contributions towards buildings, the balance of building costs, staffing and running costs
would have to be met by the education authority, private investment and the NHS.
Funds might be offered, subject to negotiation with TDC and KCC, to improve some aspects
of the major roads network.
There is no provision for improvements off site to mitigate any impacts arising from
development that might affect bordering properties, congestion, air quality or community
facilities in the village.

What about traffic?
The general traffic plan is for construction HGV’s to access the Park Lane side of the site
from Spitfire Way and Manston Road, all other parts of the sites would be accessed from
the Canterbury Road around the brow of Brooksend Hill.
The developer says that
construction traffic would not
have a material effect on the
roads in and around
Birchington, and that there
would be no long term traffic
and transport effects of this
development.
However, a KCC study carried
out on behalf of KCC in 2018
found that Canterbury Road is
already extremely busy and
that The Square is at traffic
capacity, contributing significantly to poor air quality in the area.
KCC has carried out some further high level impact analysis of the traffic that might be
generated by residents of the new homes. The results are inconclusive and require more
detailed local analysis.

What about the 2,000 houses planned for Westgate?
A similar outline planning application for 2,000 new homes together with a more detailed
application to build the first phase of houses on agricultural land south of Westgate was
submitted to TDC late last year. Consultation concluded shortly before Christmas.

In its response, the Council raised concerns about the possible cumulative effect on our
communities of such rapid development of so many new houses on issues such as traffic,
the environment and local amenities.
But to date there does not seem to have been any thorough independent assessment of the
cumulative impacts of the proposed Birchington and Westgate developments, nor of the full
impact of over 17,000 new houses across Thanet.

What is the Parish Council doing about this?
The Thanet District Local Plan is now TDC policy and cannot be changed other than at 5 year
review or by a change of policy by the government.
The Parish Council feels that rather than continuing to dispute the policy it should focus
instead on ensuring, as far as it can, that any development on this site is compliant with all
the necessary policies, legislation and guidelines, and that negative impacts of construction
and population growth are mitigated.

What can you do about this?
You can let Thanet Council know what you think, consultation ends on 19 th February 2021 so
do it soon.
You can also let your elected representatives at Thanet Council, KCC and Parliament know
what you think and ask them to represent your views.
You can, of course, ‘go to the top’ and put your views to the Secretary of State.
Here are some helpful links to get you started:
   1. Find out more at https://planning.thanet.gov.uk/online-applications/
      Enter OL_TH_20_1755 in the ‘keyword’ box, click ‘search’, then select ‘Documents’
      from the tabs.
   2. Express your views before 19th February online at the web address above or in an
      email to: planning.services@thanet.gov.uk or by writing to: Planning Applications
      Team, Development Services, Thanet District Council, PO Box 9, Cecil Square,
      Margate CT9 1XZ.
   3. Contact your TDC, KCC councillors and MP to ask them to represent your views –
      you will find contact details in this or other recent copies of the parish magazine or
      on the Birchington Parish Council website at https://birchington-pc.gov.uk/
   4. Contact The Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities
      and Local Government to express your views about government planning policy and
      how it operates. His email address is: robert.jenrick@communities.gov.uk or write to
      him at: Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF.
   5. Contact Birchington Parish Council at clerk@birchington-pc.gov.uk to let us know if
      you think we can do more to keep you informed about the proposed development.