The Planning Consultant introduced the application as set out in the report.

The Chair moved the officer recommendation to approve the application, and this was seconded by Councillor Andy Booth.

Oonagh Kerrigan, the Agent, spoke in support of the application.

Lee Small, an Objector, spoke against the application.

The Chair invited Members to make comments and points raised included:

·           The officer’s report stated that a recommendation was made, following a badger survey carried out recently, but could not see the survey in the officer’s report;

·           concerned that other organisations and Members did not have sufficient time to read the late survey;

·           sought clarity on the location of the roundabout on Borden Lane;

·           sought clarity on the path the construction traffic would take to get to the site;

·           concerned that the pre-allocated small residential roads of the spine road would pre-determine Members at future committees if this application was approved;

·           the development was approved three years ago by the planning inspector and it was Members responsibility to make sure the development was suitable for the local area;

·           the possible dead-end created by the spine road posed anti-social behaviour issues;

·           when did the developer plan to complete the junction improvements?; and

·           were there any wildlife crossings within the road networks to allow for suitable migration of the different species on the site?

The Planning Consultant responded to Member’s points and said there were no wildlife underpasses on the proposed road networks and the badger survey contained confidential information, which had been shared to all relevant parties, including the Borden Wildlife Group on 31 May 2024 for comments.

The Planning Consultant showed the location of the roundabout proposed for Borden Lane. Councillor Tony Winckless moved the following motion: That an extra condition be included which required the construction traffic to use the new link road at Chestnut Street, Sittingbourne, to access the site rather than using Wises Lane, Sittingbourne. The motion was seconded by Councillor Simon Clark. On being put to the vote, the motion was carried. Councillor Simon Clark requested that haulage firms be told the route they were required to take before any works commenced on the site.

With regards to the residential roads coming off the spine road, the Planning Consultant said the developer would have looked at the location of the roads before submitting the application to ensure that it would take into account the layout for future residential phases. She added that if changes to the location of those roads were to be required when the details were fully worked up, then it was likely it could be dealt with as a non-material or minor material amendment at that time, when the reserved matter application came forward.

The Team Leader (Planning Applications) responded to the points raised about the completion of the junction works and read out condition (26) from the outline consent. The condition read that: No more than 421 dwellings shall be occupied within the development until the spine road between Wises Land and Borden Lane and the roundabout connection to Borden Lane had been constructed to an adoptable standard and made available for public use.

Councillor Tony Winckless moved the following motion: That an extra condition be included which required construction traffic to use the new link road at Chestnut Street, Sittingbourne, to access the site rather than using Wises Lane, Sittingbourne, and that haulage firms be told the route they were required to take before any works started on the site. This was seconded by Councillor Simon Clark. On being put to the vote, the motion was carried.

The Chair was concerned that Members did not have all the information they required to make a decision on the impact the site would have on the badger setts and proposed a site visit should be undertaken for Members to understand the extent of the impact the road would have to wildlife. This was seconded by Councillor Richard Palmer. On being put to the vote, the motion was lost.

The Chair invited Members to make further comments, and points raised included:

·      Referring to paragraph 5.3 of the officers report, could the Council provide an extra condition that required any changes to the Public Rights Of Way (PROW) order be made available to the public before any changes were made?;

·      sought clarity on how the dead-end to Cryalls Lane would be managed;

·      the spine road could cause serious problems for the migration of species given that four green spaces would be separated; and

·      the applicant should have worked with the local resident groups to conduct the badger survey together to ensure all parties had the necessary expert opinions.

The Planning Consultant responded to the points raised and said that Members could not add such a condition to the PROW diversions, as these were covered by different legislation. However, she advised that an informative could be included.

With regards to the dead-end, she said that the developer had told officers they planned do provide secure fencing before the dead-end, to stop any use of the dead-end until the full connection to Borden Lane, Sittingbourne, was completed.

Resolved: That application 23/505420/REM be approved as per the recommendation in the report with the additional condition as minuted.