News

By Cllr David Godfrey

On Sunday (19 April) I attended the public meeting in the Hawkinge Community Centre organised by concerned residents to discuss the plans for the care home on the employment land in Hawkinge.

The meeting was chaired by Cllr Susan Carey and gave the 30 or so residents present the opportunity to discuss directly with the developer the plans for the care home which will go before Shepway Development Control Committee on 28th April.

The developer, Ernie Graham, presented the amendments he had made to his plans and the concessions he had already made such as the removal of much of the glass and the balconies to address the concerns about overlooking and his agreement to a condition restricting use of the home to those with physical disabilities and dementia.

Whilst most residents to not object in principle to the care home most present were concerned about the change from 2 to 3 storeys and they wish to maintain their opposition to this change.

There was a clear preference for the roof to be of a non reflective material and as much like the surrounding houses as possible. The roofs of the community centre and Lidl were not an example anyone wanted copied.

Mr Graham has offered to have a 6m high screen of trees in place before work on the care home starts and he is prepared to extend this, at his company’s expense, along the boundary that belongs to a neighbouring developer if they will agree.

The residents expressed a strong desire for evergreen trees in this screen; Cllr Carey pointed out that planning design guidance specifies native English species for the trees however both she and I undertook to seek some flexibility from Shepway planning department.

Another concern was the size of the access road both during the works and more generally for access to the employment land. Some people thought it was too narrow and asked why there couldn't be an access road direct from Spitfire Way. And could there be a restriction on access to the site during construction between 08 30 and 09 00 and 14 45 to 15 15 to avoid the school run?

The nearby Churchill school has over 400 pupils and traffic is heavy at these times. Spitfire Way also has a big queue of commuting traffic 08 30 - 09.00  which is an additional reason for consideration being given to a site access restriction during peak times.

The residents appreciated the willingness of Mr Graham to engage with the community and for the concessions he has agreed to make but remain unhappy with the increase from 2 to 3 storeys.

I publicly re-affirmed my support for the principle of a quality care home and the employment prospects it will bring to Hawkinge but I fully appreciate residents concerns and together with Cllr Carey will bring them to the attention of Shepway planning officers in order that they may consider suitable conditions to alleviate residents concerns.

Cllr David Godfrey (Con)
Shepway District Council