News Everyone welcome at drop-in sessions for Lidsing Garden Settlement

Residents and businesses are being invited to Community Voice Sessions on Thursday 6 March between 3pm and 9pm and Monday 10 March between 11am and 1pm. They will be held in Blacksmith’s Barn, Blacksmith’s Court in Bredhurst, ME7 3JU for people to share their ideas to help shape the planned new development in Lidsing.

The Lidsing Garden Settlement is an area that has been identified for major new development in the Local Plan Review 2021-2038, which was adopted by Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) in March 2024.

Work has started to prepare a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for the site, which will provide further guidance about how the new community should be developed.

Lidsing Garden Settlement will be located north of the M2 motorway, adjacent to the Medway Council area. By 2042, it is expected to provide the following:

• 2,000 new homes
• 40% affordable homes
• 2,000 new jobs
• 14 hectares of new employment space
• A new three form entry primary school
• Minimum of 20% biodiversity net gain
• Approximately 44 hectares of open space
• New bus services
• Cycling and walking links throughout the site and strategically north-south along the Capstone Valley and into the wider Medway area
• A new local centre of no less than 1,500m2 of retail, leisure and services
• A new medical facility

Cllr Stuart Jeffery, Leader of MBC and Chair of the Lidsing Stakeholder Steering Group said:

“Anyone interested in the development of the new Lidsing Garden Settlement is invited to take part in these community voice sessions.

“The Council is starting to prepare a supplementary planning document for Lidsing, which will be informed by the contributions from local people, businesses and organisations to help shape the future expectations for the site.

“These sessions are designed for people to drop in and stay for as long or as little as they wish. We are encouraging anyone interested in the future of the local area to come along and help guide the future development.”

In addition to these local community sessions, there will be an online opportunity to share any ideas.

Further engagement will then take place over the coming months.

Some key topics for discussion for Lidsing will include:

*        Movement and transport in the local area

*        Creation of new open space and play provision

*        The new local centre and other key facilities and infrastructure

For more information please visit the MBC web page.

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