“Otterpool Park Garden Town could see up to 12,000 new homes being built (on 357 Acres or 144 Hectares) over the next 30 years within easy reach of nearby villages, towns and the countryside, but with its own businesses, schools and parks.” Says Cllr David Drury Monk (below)
No wonder Cllr Monk is a happy chappy, after placing a purdah on this information, even when the elections team at SDC informed a member of the public, no such purdah exists.
For more information, plus nice maps & other info see Otterpool Park second page linked to the first. There you find a little more detail, but not much.
SDC have failed to answer how they identified the site, how they knew about the Garden Village Policy. No doubt they will tell us it was shrewd business and fortuitous timing, but we think the people of Shepway know different.
Was Damian Collins MP the bagman? It does seem the only plausible explanation. And why did they pay £2million over the odds for the land?
The Council as always fail to address the issues and are trying to put a spin on this. But spinning 12,000 homes between Sellindge & Lympne, will cause these historic villages to lose their identities.
The Tories like any Govt or party in power should have built slowly and progressively rather than causing a large spurge of unaffordable housing for a large percentage of Shepway residents.
We fail to see and understand how local people will be able to afford such housing when the average wage across Shepway is £20,200 according to the Office of National Statistics in 2015.
We hope SDC will have a consultation, allowing the people to express their concerns about a potential 12,000 houses being built in an unspoilt part of Shepway. We hope that a campaign group will be set up to stop this concrete carbuncle and that through FOI and other means, we the people of Shepway will come to discover the truth, because we are sure that SDC won’t be telling us anytime soon.
Finally, it must be remembered that a Lorry Park at Stanford looks likely to go ahead. Princes Parade could be developed and the old Stonegate Egg Factory Site at Stelling Minnis is to have 30 new homes, built by Quinn Wilson Estates ( who donated £9000 to the local Tory Party in 2015). There are more developments planned across Shepway, and soon vast swathes of our beautiful district will be hidden under concrete, house & tarmac.
