Issue - meetings

Description of application – Outline application for residential development of up to 800 dwellings, including affordable housing units and self-build plots; retirement care community for up to 180 C2 units; primary school hub with associated sports facilities/outdoor space; sports hub including rugby and hockey pitches with separate car park and clubhouse areas; 2 ha of commercial B1 use; local centre including commercial, retail and community facilities and undercroft car parking for Knockholt Station; country park/open space including landscaping, infrastructure and groundworks; with all matters reserved except for access.

This application was an Adjoining Authority Consultation which required the Council to provide comments on the impacts of the development on the London Borough of Bromley.

The Chairman agreed with the recommendation to raise objections to the development which undermined the purpose of the Green Belt and would add pressure to GP surgeries in this part of the Borough.

Councillor Page reported that, if permitted, the scheme would greatly affect her Ward in terms of impact on local facilities and services.

Councillor Dean believed the owner bought the land with the sole intention of developing the site to make a profit for himself.  If permission was granted for this application, Chelsfield Golf Course may suffer the same fate.

The Head of Development Management confirmed that the site was originally included in Sevenoaks’ Local Plan but was later removed. In relation to the recommendations in the report, Bromley Council had previously raised an objection regarding the impact on local education.

Councillor Huntington-Thresher reported the scheme would have a significant impact on local roads and transport.

Having considered the report, Members RESOLVED that OBJECTIONS BE RAISED for the following reasons:-

1  The location and scale of the proposed development undermines the purposes of the Green Belt within which it is set.

2  In the absence of new on-site medical practitioner facilities, the proposed development would have the potential to add significant pressure to existing medical practitioner facilities within Bromley which are already near or at full capacity.

3  The proposal is likely to result in a number of impacts on transport services and local roads in Bromley, including concerns relating to the local rail capacity, car parking demand (including on-street) demand at Knockholt Station and the future car trip generation created from the on-site commercial centre and lack of secondary school.

The following objection was also added:-

4  In the absence of evidence to demonstrate how the creation of new schools in Sevenoaks would impact on local school needs, the projected expansion of the on-site primary school and the breadth of the curriculum available, that may have the potential to impact on the capacity of a nearby primary school within the Borough.