1. Between 2021 and 2038, provision is made through the granting of planning permissions and the allocation of sites for a minimum of 19,669 new dwellings.

2. Between 2021 and 2038, provision is made through the granting of planning permissions and the allocation of sites for a minimum of 119,250m2 employment floorspace as follows:

3. Between 2021 and 2038, provision is made through the granting of planning permissions and the allocation of sites for a minimum of 14,360m2 retail, food and beverage floorspace as follows:

4. New land allocations that contribute towards meeting the above provisions are identified on the Policies Map.

Maidstone Urban Area

5. Maidstone Urban Area will continue to be a focus for development in the borough. Best use will be made of available sites within the urban area. Renewal is prioritised within the town centre, which will continue to be the primary retail and office location in the borough, and for which further detailed masterplanning is proposed to ensure that the maximum benefit is realised from development in the town centre.

Garden Settlement and Strategic Development Locations

6. New, sustainable garden settlements are identified at Lenham Heath and Lidsing which will provide new homes, jobs and services, all delivered to garden community principles.

7. A Strategic Development Location is identified at Invicta Park Barracks.

Employment Sites

8. Delivery of Woodcut Farm, a prestigious business park at Junction 8 of the M20 that is well connected to the motorway network will provide for a range of job needs up to 2038. The site will make a substantial contribution to the need for new office space in the borough as well as providing a new, well serviced and well connected mixed use employment site suitable for offices, industry and warehousing; thereby helping to diversify the range of sites available to new and expanding businesses in the borough. Redevelopment of the former Syngenta Works site near Yalding will make a significant contribution to the provision of employment uses, as will the continued build out of the Kent Medical Campus/Newnham Park site. A number of smaller sites for employment use are allocated around the borough to accommodate a diverse range of employment types.

Gypsy, Travellers, and Travelling Showpeople

9. The council will seek to ensure that the accommodation needs of the gypsy, traveller and travelling Showpeople community over the plan period will be met in full. Further details will be set out in a Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople DPD.

Rural Service Centres

10. Coxheath, Harrietsham, Headcorn, Lenham, Marden and Staplehurst rural service centres will be the secondary focus for housing development with the emphasis on maintaining and enhancing their role and the provision of services to meet the needs of the local community. Suitably scaled employment opportunities will also be permitted.

Larger Villages

11. The larger villages of East Farleigh, Eyhorne Street (Hollingbourne), Sutton Valence and Yalding will be locations for limited housing development consistent with the scale and role of the villages.

Other Locations

Smaller villages may have the potential to accommodate limited growth which will contribute to ensuring that local services are supported and sustainable communities are maintained. This plan allows for limited growth in the smaller villages by designating these as ‘broad locations’. This will enable local communities to facilitate development and influence its location and timescale for delivery through Neighbourhood Plans. The identified smaller village locations are Boughton Monchelsea, Ulcombe, Laddingford, Kingswood, Teston, Boxley, Bredhurst, Chart Sutton, Detling, Grafty Green, Hunton, Platt’s Heath, and Stockbury.

12. Small scale employment opportunities will be permitted at appropriate locations to support the rural economy.

13. In other locations, protection will be given to the rural character of the borough avoiding coalescence between settlements, including Maidstone and surrounding villages, and Maidstone and the Medway Gap/Medway Towns conurbation.

14. The green and blue network of multi-functional open spaces, rivers and water courses, the Kent Downs National Landscape and its setting, the setting of the High Weald National Landscape, and landscapes of local value will be conserved and enhanced.

For more information, please visit Maidstone’s Local Plan Maidstone Borough Council Local Plan 2021-2038