Highsted Park - Inquiry Update

Land to the South and East of Sittingbourne, Kent and Land to the West of Teynham, Kent APP/V2255/V/24/3355313 & APP/V2255/V/24/3355314

Our Ward Councillor Monique Bonney has been keeping the Parish Council updated about progress with the Highsted Park planning applications Inquiry.

To participate in the Inquiry applicants needed to apply for Rule 6 status and to engage professional representation. The Parish Council does not have the resources to fund representation and has not applied for Rule 6 status. However, councillors will continue to monitor the Inquiry and seek to promote Bredgar's interests, wherever possible.

Those parishioners who may be deeply concerned or strongly opposed to the Highsted Park applications can support the long standing Community Campaign - Five Parishes Group. The Five Parishes Group have been granted Rule 6 status and will be represented at the Inquiry. They will be raising matters at the Inquiry that are not covered by the other parties and that are important to our villages. The level of representation that can be delivered by Five Parishes Group is dependent on a successful fund raising campaign.

To find out more about Five Parishes Group and to support the fund raising see their website

https://www.fiveparishes.org.uk/

or Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/FiveParishesOppositionGroup/

Details of how to donate are shown at the bottom of the sites home page.

Preparations for the Inquiry by the Rule 6 participants are now ongoing. They are working on Statements of Common Ground to eliminate all matters where there is agreement or where mitigations for issues are likely to be identified, leaving only the areas of disagreement to be considered. Each participant will then be preparing a Statement of Case that sets out each of their chosen areas of evidence at the Inquiry. The Inquiry is planned to take place in March and expected to report back to the Secretary of State in the summer.

See the Planning Inspectorate site for more details https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?caseid=3355313