At a
meeting of the Joint Parishes Group, of which
The proposal poses two major impacts for those living locally :–
TRAFFIC and ENVIRONMENT
There is no doubt at all, that this Parish would be directly and adversely affected should the Application be approved, so please read on ………
· The site, described as ‘the biggest development in Kent in our lifetime’, runs from Thurnham Lane in the west, to Junction 8 M20, Holllingbourne to the east, covers 247 acres of land, is 2.5k long, and sits at the base of the beautiful North Downs escarpment – there would be a massive visual impact, particularly from the Downs
· The largest of the 8 warehouses would be 120,000 square meters - six times the size of Bearsted Village Green or 10 times bigger than the largest B & Q warehouse, and 14m high
· Major pollution would result – air, light, noise, vibration, water aquifers, etc. and destruction of the environment and natural habitat would be catastrophic – the light and noise generated would undoubtedly affect this Parish
· Water courses, roads, footpaths and bridleways would need to be either diverted or closed altogether
· Major
road work would be required on the A20 from the M20 roundabout to
· 3000 lorry movements, mainly maximum size HGVs primarily from Continental Europe, every 24 hours – that’s 125 per hour, or roughly 2 lorries entering or leaving the site on the Ashford Road every minute of the day and night
· Creation of new railways sidings, with line running into and through the warehouses, with constant shunting, loading / off-loading
· Extensive re-modelling would be required, with most spoil needing to be moved from the site, resulting in major traffic implications
· 3,500 jobs would be created over the 7 year building period, primarily (80%) for warehouse operatives and drivers. It is estimated that less than 10% would live in the local area, resulting in a huge increase of vehicular movement, plus housing, schooling and health implications for the work force, a large percentage of whom it is anticipated would come from eastern Europe
· Potential for major accident, toxic spillages and / or terrorist attack – would our already busy and overstretched emergency services be able to cope and who would pay – likely the local community
· Serious quality of life issues including the loss of rural peace and quiet and the spoiling for ever, of our beautiful, open countryside
Further details and a lot of information regarding this Application can be found on the following Web Sites:
The ‘STOP KIG’ campaign - www.stopkig.org
The local
press and media will continue to feature the development and updates – KM,
Downs Mail, Radio
The Parish Council is opposing this development both in its own right and also as a member of the Joint Parishes Group.
No doubt many residents will wish to make representation individually – the more people who object, the stronger the case for refusing the Application
PLEASE DON’T DELAY – WRITE TODAY!
The initial date for comment is 27th November. However, there is still time for you make your feelings known regarding this development beyond that date, either on line or by writing to:
Steve Scott-Brown
Planning Department
Quoting reference: MA/07/2092
Sue Wotton
Parish Clerk
13 Nov ‘07