News Additional SPI Committee meeting to focus on LPR Reg19

Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) has announced that it is to hold an additional meeting of the Strategic Planning and Infrastructure (SPI) Committee to focus on the Local Plan Review Regulation 19 Consultation Document.

The meeting which is scheduled to start at 5.30pm on Monday 4 October has been arranged to allow more focused consideration of the Reg 19 proposal, with the meeting agenda dedicated to the document. The earlier SPI Committee meeting of 21 September will still take place but the additional meeting has been arranged following concerns that there would be insufficient time available to fully discuss the LPR with several items on the original meeting’s scheduled agenda.

Chair of the Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee, Cllr Paul Cooper said:

“As we know there was a very high level of responses received to the Local Plan Review Regulation 18b Consultation, so this additional meeting will provide the Committee sufficient time for full consideration and to discuss in more detail the Regulation 19 document.”

The LPR consultation document includes preferred approaches towards accommodating future growth in housing, employment and retail, and locations for these, together with the infrastructure necessary to secure them. The consultation document also has important policy areas, including protection of key environmental assets, climate change and funding of key infrastructure.

The consultation also received a good level of response from infrastructure providers and statutory consultees whose main comments related to matters ranging from highway capacity and utilities provision to the need for new healthcare facilities and the protection of heritage and natural landscapes.

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