Winterbourne development bid: even we were taken aback by this one

Proposed site is in a completely unsustainable and isolated location

While CPRE Kent comments on numerous planning applications across the county, even we have been particularly taken aback by the proposal for up to 1,815 dwellings at Winterbourne Farm, Dunkirk.

Not only is the proposed site in a completely unsustainable and isolated location but it is also almost entirely enclosed within the Blean Ancient Woodland.

Thankfully, Swale Borough Council has already recognised the site’s inappropriate location in rejecting it at the earliest stage during the previously aborted Local Plan site-selection process. In the 2019 Local Plan SHLAA (Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment) process, the council assessed that:

“The site is physically separated from it (Dunkirk) by the A2 and in any case Dunkirk is a very small village. The site would give rise to clearly isolated homes in the countryside. Furthermore, Dunkirk has extremely limited services, facilities and employment opportunities. Although the neighbouring settlement of Boughton has a better range of everyday services, it still does not amount to a local service centre and travel would almost certainly be required into the surrounding towns, most likely by car. As such, and despite the more relative sustainability of nearby Boughton, the site is considered to be in an unsustainable location which is not suitable for residential development.”

These facts remain unchanged.

This proposal is opportunistic, seeking to exploit the stalled Local Plan process within the Swale borough and the current confusion in national planning policy. The site promoter appears to be taking advantage of the site’s politically convenient location on the administrative boundary, away from a sizable voting population within the borough. This cannot obscure the fact that this site is an extremely poor spatial planning choice for Swale. Its location means it will be almost entirely car-dependent, with limited potential for internal trip generation. If this isn’t bad enough, its location enclosed within ancient woodland will inevitably cause environment and ecological harm.

This application should be refused immediately to prevent the site promoter from building momentum behind it as a serious contender for the upcoming Local Plan consultation. Moreover, this application must be refused to protect the countryside and maintain the integrity of Swale’s spatial planning strategy.

• You can read CPRE Kent’s response to the application here