It begins on the 22 Feb 2022. On this date Bentley Parks Group Limited is incorporated and goes live on Companies House. The person of significant control of the company is Mr Keith Alan Forward, who describes his occupation as property management.
On the 5 July 2022, an agreement was signed between Gramm Limited, owned by Raymond George Heasman and Bentley Parks Group Limited owned by Keith Allan Forward. As an aside, Mr. Heasman’s home was up for sale a year or so ago.
On the 8 Nov 2022, the former Station Yard, Station Road, Lydd, was ravaged by fire. Many locals are convinced the building was torched deliberately, as one commented:
“If this was an accident, I’m a monkey’s uncle. Stations don’t just self-combust.”
And the owners “of the buildings at Lydd Station, refused to comment when asked about the fire.“
Image KFRS
Kent Fire & Rescue Service have said it was “not possible to confirm whether the fire was deliberate.”
KFRS have informed Network Rail of the incident and a representative did attend. They also informed the Environment Agency, but it is uncommon to inform any other agencies, such as Health & Safety or Environmental Health at the Council.
On the 26 May 2023, a Planning Application Form for the former Station Yard, Station Road, Lydd, Kent, TN29 9LL was received by Folkestone & Hythe District Council. The application is for full planning permission on the 3 acre site (1.23 ha).
Lydd Railway Station – Google My Maps
This suffered a fire in Nov 22, and a planning application lodged on 26 May 2023 – 23/0814/FH
The proposal is for the siting of twenty six residential park homes, conversion of station building and goods shed to ancillary accommodation, office and shop, landscaping and associated development.
The planning application reference is 23/0814/FH
The applicant is Keith Alan Forward of Bentley Parks Group Ltd.
The agent is Debbie Marriage of DJM Town Planning
And Gramm Limited owned by Raymond George Heasman (pictured). Raymond is also a Director in a vineyard business, along with his wife, daughter, and son in law.
Now one of the strange things about this site is Cllr David Wimble (Ind) has recently stated the following:
I have been involved with the site on behalf of FHDC since May 2019. I probably know more about the site than 95% of your group [Lydd Station Heritage Group].
Are you aware about class 3 site contaminants. I am not talking about the asbestos that was in the station building? The fire took care of that. But the whole site is contaminated and without being taken care of any developer would not get planning.
This is plain wrong as the Council’s own Contaminated Land Policy states:
Category 3 land is unlikely to require remediation because the relevant authority has concluded that there is no significant possibility of significant harm. This includes situations where the authority considers that regulatory intervention under Part 2A is not warranted.
Then Cllr David Wimble (Ind) goes onto say:
For the group to buy the site and open it to the public you would have to deal with the contamination
In 2020 this was estimated at £1.1 million and is the reason the council bailed out.
Cllr Wimble implies the Council were considering buying the site, but what prevented them was the contamination. Yet the two contamination reports on the planning portal, make no reference to any significant contamination. He goes onto comment about the site by saying:
The site would need decontamination work which was not part of the park application
That would be a condition of planning under 14.4 of the application. Realistically that’s £1 million.
Why would the site need decontaminating when it is not considered contaminated under Cat 3 and “unlikely to require remediation“.
Cllr Wimble further states:
The station building actually had all the asbestos go up in flames.
But the site is toxic. I have agreed to work with my developer friend and a small group of 4 others who are meeting up.
Will see what the developer says. He has experience of building out sites like this and has already done something similar but on a much bigger scale at Ashford railway works where he is building studios and housing
This last sentence implies the Developer, Cllr Wimble is talking to is Mark Quinn, of Quinn Estates, and further on in his comments he states:
And the group is myself Quinn Estates, Alliance Construction, and Livingstone Homes
So we emailed Quinn Estates and a spokesperson for the company has stated:
Quinn Estates have never spoken to David Wimble, or made any assertions or promises to him or any other, that Quinn Estates were ever interested in the [Lydd station] site, let alone purchasing the site to develop it.”
It would appear that most of what Cllr Wimble has stated can be taken with a pinch of salt.
So that’s Part 1. In Part 2 well look at the planning application – 23/0814/FH in more detail.
The Shepway Vox Team
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