You may have seen the picture in last week’s Kentish Express showing a recent aerial view of Drovers Roundabout (by Junction 9 on the M20, where the A20, A28, Maidstone Road, Simone Weil Avenue and Fougeres Way converge) and a before picture adjacent. This serves as a reminder to what appalling destruction can be carried out in the name of progress. The works are designed to increase the capacity of the roundabout and also to allow the Park & Ride (P&R) buses to drive across the roundabout itself. This is despite the fact that the P&R is very unlikely to go ahead in the short to medium term, if ever. The proposed Smartlink bus service cannot go ahead without the P&R so the transport strategy for the urban extensions does not hold together.
In addition, you may not be aware that there is currently a double planning application in to build on the two fields adjacent to the P&R site (that is the one currently covered in the site works and mounds of soil). These two fields are as yet more or less still green, and along with the P&R site should be returned to grass after the works on the roundabout are complete. The application proposed 62 dwellings on one and a 66 bed care home and an office of over 5,000 square metres. The office would be taller than the new BUPA care home adjacent and is of the most basic square, cheap design. The access to the office and care home is off Simone Weil Avenue, very close to Drovers Roundabout. It is hard to see how that will be a safe place for so much traffic pulling in and out, even though it will be left in and left out, particularly as the design of the new roundabout is to incorporate a dedicated left turn which means traffic will be travelling very fast round the corner from Fougeres Way (from Junction 9). However, Highways have apparently already given it permission.
This application has attracted over 150 local objections, but as ABC had included both the sites in their Urban Sites Development Plan Document one can only assume that they would like to give it permission, if only to get the New Homes Bonuses it would attract.
It is due to come to Planning Committee shortly.
These sites should never be developed because:
a/ They are adjacent to a Nature Reserve (The Warren) which lies downhill from all three sites. As some of The Warren’s rare species live in the ponds there it seems particularly likely that development there would be damaging. Also, the residential development would inevitably degrade the site, domestic cats and dogs will be the main culprits for this. Both Natural England and Kent Wildlife Trust have objected to the application.
b/ they are very visible being by a very significant junction at the entrance to Ashford. They provided a green, welcoming vista before the roundabout works started; they could be returned to that if this development is stopped.
c/ Warren Lane abuts the Care Home/ Office site. You may not be aware of the semi-rural lane which runs from Maidstone Road into The Warren, and still remains a pleasant place to walk, as it runs beneath Simone Weil and Fougeres Way it is remarkable unaffected by them. This route is well used by visitors to The Warren, and is one of the few access points for town centre residents to woodland.
d/ Finally, there is no justification for building here – these sites are far from ideal, they were only ever considered as “enabling” development for the P&R which was considered essential for the transport strategy for Ashford. [This is now in tatters - new office developments in the town centre were supposed to use the P&R but now are allowed to incorporate parking into any plans as no one was interested in building offices with that requirement. All the recent successful new office developments have been in Eureka Park as everyone can drive there, although not enough parking has been provided there in fact, which is another matter.]
e/ This is a very congested area already. All these proposed developments would massively increase traffic movements, particularly at peak times.
Just to add to the mix, there has been a preliminary application for a non food retail store with a car park with 200 spaces on one part of the P&R site. KCC have bought that and probably hope to recoup that cost by selling it on.
If you want more detail on any of these matters, please visit the Ashford Borough Council website. The application link is:
http://planning.ashford.gov.uk/Planning/details.aspx?systemkey=89141&pageindex=0
The Urban Sites DPD is
The Parking Strategy is in the Ashford Town Centre Area Action Plan
