Rural Kent on the front lines of Prime Minister’s construction battle

Sir Keir Starmer will later unveil sweeping changes to the planning system, under which councils could be forced to consider building on green belt land in England.

The Prime Minister has vowed to eliminate “blockades” standing in the way of the 1.5 million new homes needed to solve the housing crisis.

But what happens when those “obstructionists” are elected councilors and local people with real concerns?

A rural corner of Kent is fast becoming a test case for how committed the government is to making planning decisions in the face of local opposition.

If you’ve got the stomach for it, you can climb the narrow crumbling stone spiral staircase to reach the roof of St Nicholas’ Church in Rodmersham.

From the top of the Norman church you have a bird’s eye view of North Kent. Immediately below is an apple orchard, beyond that are arable fields with the occasional house, and in the distance the town of Sittingbourne, the Thames Estuary silhouetted against the backdrop of heavy industry.

This is land where Quinn Estate developers want to build 8,400 homes, new schools and a new road.

“This is absolutely a huge development, it will have a devastating impact on this area,” says Monique Bonney.

She grew up in Rodmersham and returned to the village after living and working around the world. Their wedding took place at St Nicholas Church and she has been an independent councilor for the area for 18 years.

He’s not just concerned about the size of the new development – ​​Rodmersham is currently made up of 275 homes – but how affordable it will be.

Only 760 homes, she says – about 9% of the proposed development. The developers say the level of affordable housing will be determined in a future investigation.

There is also a question of infrastructure. Bonney says the region’s GP-to-patient ratio is one of the worst in the country.

The development proposal includes new medical facilities, but Bonnie doubts this will happen.

“I think my 18 years of experience of being an independent parish councilor and a district councilor has demonstrated that the system has completely failed and that the Government is absolutely incompetent at trying to provide infrastructure services to local people. “

Chris Mitchell, landlord of the local Fruiters Arms pub, is similarly opposed: “It will no longer be a village, it will be just another part of the London commute.”

Bonney is not the only councilor to oppose the proposals – the local Labour-led council was on the verge of voting to reject them.

But it was “called out” at the eleventh hour by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner. This means that instead of the local authority making the decision, the government will take over the planning application.

Local Green Party councilor Rich Lehmann said, “It seems very undemocratic.”

“They (councillors) should have been able to make their own decision, even if it went to appeal after the decision was made.”

Labor MP Kevin McKenna was one of about 70 others who asked Rayner to intervene in the decision.

He said, “I definitely wanted it to be called. This (decision) is going on in the House. I wanted it to be properly evaluated.”

“Both major parties promised to remove these barriers to construction, and Labor made it really clear that we are looking at planning from the start.”

This is the kind of battle the Labor government faces if it wants to achieve its goals.

After two months of consultation, ministers will produce a final version of the changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The government says it will:

• Give councils a mandatory target of providing 370,000 homes per year in England
• Give preference to brownfield sites for new buildings – unused areas that have been developed in the past
• Provide £100 million to councils and 300 extra planning officers to speed up the planning process
• Order councils to identify low quality green belt land – or “grey belt” land – on which to build.

The Housing Secretary said the government would “deliver housing and infrastructure in a more coordinated way”.

“We haven’t seen this in the past. We’ve seen years of dilemma and delay, legal challenges.”

Adam Hug of the Local Government Association said: “People can’t and don’t live in planning permissions”.

He said local authorities should be given more powers to force developers to build after obtaining planning permission, rather than just sitting on the land.

Shadow Housing Secretary Kevin Hollinrake said: “Labour will overstep the concerns of local communities.”

During the consultation phase, local councils told the government Its house building plan was “unrealistic” and “impossible to achieve”.

Not all local people in and around Rodmersham are opposed to the development.

Sittingbourne Football Club are flying high at the moment – ​​second in the South East Division of the Isthmian League and on an FA Trophy run.

Club chairman Maurice Dunk said, “We’re four games away from Wembley. Four.”

The club is sponsored by Quinn Estates and will get a new stadium if the plans go ahead.

Dunk believes that growth is exactly what the area needs.

“The town is in a bit of a bad shape. We need roads. There are over 100,000 people trying to use a motorway junction between Sittingbourne and Sheppey.

“I appreciate that local people don’t want the homes, no one does, but the business community certainly wants jobs to remain in the area and hopefully expand jobs to the area.”

He is also confident the proposal will meet the “desperate needs” of schools and GPs.

“We’ve got the worst doctor-to-patient ratio in the entire country.”

He is pleased the development proposal was called in: “I really don’t want to disrespect our local council, but it might be too big for them to make a decision.”