West Kent Local News
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Housing
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68 total
Council to Convert Douglas House, Above Lidl in Tonbridge, Into 20 Homes for Homeless Families
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council has agreed to lease 20 flats at Douglas House, the office building above Lidl on Quarry Hill Road, once it's converted - the latest in a run of moves to curb the roughly £2.2 million a year it spends housing homeless households in costlier temporary accommodation.
Petition Against 1,500-Home Site North of Sevenoaks Tops 1,700 Signatures
A petition opposing Fairfax Properties' plan for 1,500 homes on Green Belt land between Otford and Sevenoaks has passed 1,700 signatures, after the developer held its own public consultation event last month - the latest step since Kent Wildlife Trust first raised the alarm about the site in August.
Kings Hill, Larkfield, Aylesford and Walderslade Added to New HMO Planning Rules
Tonbridge & Malling council has extended its new restrictions on converting houses into shared homes (HMOs) to cover Kings Hill, Larkfield, Aylesford and Walderslade - after realising last month's decision didn't cover everywhere its own evidence pointed to.
Have Your Say: Maidstone Consults on 26 New Homes at Aylesbury House Site
Maidstone Borough Council is consulting on plans to demolish Aylesbury House and two neighbouring properties on London Road and replace them with 26 one- and two-bedroom flats as part of its 1,000 Homes initiative - the consultation closes this Wednesday, 4 November.
40 New Affordable Homes Delivered in Maidstone Town Centre, With Room for Bats and Swifts
Maidstone Borough Council has taken ownership of two new town centre developments on Granville Road, delivering 40 affordable homes - plus bat and swift boxes built into the design - as part of its ongoing partnership with Skillcrown Homes and a wider target of 1,000 affordable homes over ten years.
Tunbridge Wells Has West Kent's Shakiest Housing Pipeline, Kent's Own Figures Show
Kent County Council's own housing audit shows just 54% of Tunbridge Wells' five-year housing supply has actual planning permission, against 81-92% in Maidstone, Sevenoaks and Tonbridge & Malling - a gap that helps explain why contentious sites keep getting approved across the borough.
A 2018 Planning Promise Comes Due: Paddock Wood's Mascalls Court Estate Is Getting Its School
When Tunbridge Wells Borough Council approved 375 homes at Mascalls Court Farm in 2018, it came with a promise: a new primary school once the estate filled up. With most of the homes now built, Kent County Council has unveiled the design - a two-phase school for up to 420 children - and is about to seek planning permission for it.
Kent Police Sold Off Part of Its Maidstone HQ for £16.2m - and the Demolition Papers Reveal Barratt Redrow Is Behind It
Kent's Police and Crime Commissioner has confirmed the £16.2m sale of land at the force's Sutton Road headquarters in Maidstone, completed in June, but wouldn't name the buyer. The demolition application now pending on the council's planning register does: it's Barratt Redrow, and the site is formally allocated for housing - though no full planning application has been submitted yet.
Council Hands Over £250,000 to Rescue Affordable Homes at Horsmonden Development
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has approved a £250,000 Section 106 subsidy to West Kent Housing Association, after the developer of a 68-home Brenchley Road scheme found no housing association could otherwise afford to buy its 27 affordable homes - with 633 households on the borough's waiting list and 54 wanting a home in Horsmonden itself.