Maidstone Cabinet Agrees Formal Objection to Hermitage Quarry's Ancient Woodland Case

Maidstone Borough Council has taken its opposition to the proposed expansion of Hermitage Quarry a step further. As this site reported last month, the council had already voiced strong objections to plans that would see the quarry extend into Oaken Wood's ancient woodland - now Cabinet has formally agreed the detailed text of a response to Kent County Council's consultation on the draft Kent Mineral Sites Plan, which will go forward as part of the plan's formal examination.

The response sets out specific technical grounds rather than just general opposition. It argues the case for the quarry extension relies too heavily on a 2013 Secretary of State decision made under previous planning policy, doesn't fully account for the loss of ancient woodland and its ecological value, and doesn't sufficiently explore alternative sources of hard rock and roadstone. Maidstone's Cabinet is also concerned that key questions about whether the loss of ancient woodland can actually be justified are being pushed down the line to a future planning application stage, rather than resolved now as part of deciding whether the site should be allocated for quarrying at all. As a result, the response asks Kent County Council to go back and review the evidence behind the Hermitage Quarry allocation before proceeding further.

Cllr Tony Harwood, the council's Cabinet Member for Planning Policy and Management, said: "Ancient woodland is our most ecologically and culturally important terrestrial habitat. Being literally irreplaceable, national planning policy rightly sets an exceptionally high bar where development would result in its loss or deterioration. Maidstone Borough Council's analysis is clear that the evidence as presented by Kent County Council falls far short of the level of policy justification required by the National Planning Policy Framework." Cllr Rachel Rodwell, Cabinet Member for Nature and Climate Transition, added: "Ancient woodland is one of our most valuable natural assets and, once lost, it cannot be replaced... We remain concerned that the evidence presented does not yet demonstrate the wholly exceptional circumstances required by national planning policy to justify the loss of ancient woodland."

The response also touches on a second, separate site: the existing Chapel Farm allocation near Lenham. The council isn't objecting to that allocation itself, but has recommended enhanced protection for nearby ancient woodland there, including a wider buffer zone in line with Natural England guidance - a sign the council's concerns extend beyond Oaken Wood to how the wider Mineral Sites Plan treats ancient woodland generally.

The consultation itself remains open, and residents, businesses and organisations can still submit their own representations directly to Kent County Council through the Kent Mineral Sites Plan's Regulation 19 consultation, separately from the council's own formal response. Source: Maidstone Borough Council