Agenda item

(Mr E Dreyer, Urban Design Director, Farrells, Mr M Bodkin, Head of Urban Regeneration, and Ms V Hyland, Regeneration and Projects Manager, were in attendance for this item at the invitation of the Committee)

(1)       Mr Bodkin explained that, with the abolition of the Kent and Medway Structure Plan, spatial planning for the county was now at a crossroads and there is an opportunity for the County Council to do something new.  Mr Dreyer presented a series of slides, setting out the countywide Spatial Vision which Farrells had been commissioned to develop, and stressed that it was being developed in a collaborative way through a series of workshops held with stakeholders in Kent over the course of the last two months. A paper which summarised the outcomes of these workshops was circulated.  These draft summaries were currently being shared with those who had taken part in the workshops.

(2)       Mr Bodkin and Mr Dreyer responded to questions and comments from Members, as follows:-

(a)       Members welcomed the Spatial Vision and the innovative way in which it addressed the identity of the county and the relationships and links between different areas;

(b)      “Locate in Kent”, the inward investment agency for the county, together with other bodies such as Ashford’s Future and South East Trains, are promoting the use of High Speed 1 to businesses located in London and Kent;

(c)       some negative responses to the concept of a Spatial Vision had been noted at workshops but this was by no means the main reaction to it.  Mr Dreyer said that Farrells had been impressed by the energy and depth of comments coming from the workshops, but Members added that some communities were understandably weary of seemingly endless consultations;

(d)       following the publication of a draft Spatial Vision in the Autumn, there will be a wider stage of engagement including the people of Kent. This is likely to take the form of focus groups to investigate and address the issues raised rather than a set-piece public consultation programme.  Members suggested engaging the Youth Parliament and Youth Advisory Groups in these focus groups, as the input of young people was very important;

(e)       in response to Members’ concerns about the role of strategic housing targets in the Spatial Vision, Mr Bodkin acknowledged that the setting of housing targets is an emotive issue. The figures identified in the emerging Spatial Vision are those which are identified in the recently adopted South East Plan and which the district councils and the Medway Unitary Council are required to carry through into their Local Development Frameworks.  Members commented that, although KCC was able to comment on the mix and location of new housing provision, it did not produce or own these targets;

(f)        re-skilling was an important part of the regeneration agenda, and the Spatial Vision would need to link to and work with education and training providers;

(g)       the Spatial Vision presented an opportunity for Kent to make the most of its diversity, but to do this local authorities would have to work together;

(h)       Kent could develop a central cultural attraction, perhaps somewhere with sufficient transport links to support it; and

(i)        Mr Dreyer invited Members to submit any further comments they wished to make to him and had included his contact details on the workshop summary document circulated.

(3)       RESOLVED that:-

(a)      the information given in the presentation and in response to Members’ questions be noted, with thanks, and

(b)      Members send any further comments they wish to make following the meeting direct to Mr Dreyer at Farrells.