The vehicular access arrangement for Site A comprises one vehicle access from Wrotham Road on the western boundary of the site as a priority access junction and an emergency/pedestrian/cycle access further to the south.
The vehicular access arrangement for Site B comprises a simple vehicle access from Longfield Road as a priority access junction.
Future residents will be able to walk or cycle to local facilities within Hook Green, including the schools, local shops and public transport links.
The two areas of proposed public parking (Site A to serve Camer Parade and Site B to assist at school drop-off and pick up) will be of benefit to the existing residents of Hook Green and Meopham, ensuring the parking at Camer Parade is not consistently over capacity.
Both Sites are in close proximity to existing bus stops on Wrotham Road and there is an opportunity for residents to access frequent rail services to London from Meopham Station.
A Transport Assessment is being prepared, with initial analysis indicating that there will be no impact on highway or junction capacity in the local road network as a result of the proposed development.
Site A is in proximity to the Kent Downs AONB, the boundary of which is located beyond an agricultural field to the east of the boundary of Site A (along Camer Park Road). The Site is also located to the north of Street Conservation Area. Both applications will include a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment of the proposed development and will identify mitigation measures to protect the setting and character of the landscape.
The development of both Sites would afford opportunities for new areas of public open space, enhancing public access through a landscape driven design that provides links to the existing Public Right of Way network. The landscape buffers at the sensitive boundaries of Site A and Site B are designed to partially screen the development whilst also providing opportunities for wildlife and functional drainage solutions. Existing trees and hedgerows would be protected, retained and enhanced as part of the schemes. New planting would include native species of local importance complementing the variety of species found around Hook Green.
The Sites do not sit within a Conservation Area, nor do they contain any designated built heritage assets.
Whilst there are Listed Buildings within the vicinity of the Sites and The Street Conservation Area lies to the south of Site A there is no historical association between the assets and the land. The Development Framework Plan for Site A shows a landscaped development buffer to the south of the Site which will ensure the character of the heritage assets are maintained.
The preparation of a Heritage Assessment in support of the planning applications will outline the measures taken during the design process to mitigate against any heritage impact of the proposed development against existing heritage assets.
Ecology has been at the forefront of the considerations and as such, from the outset, the design of both Sites has sought to retain the existing hedgerows and tree located around the boundary of both Sites. It is also proposed to introduce an enhanced landscape buffer on the south eastern edge of Site A and the southern and western edges of Site B. The proposals have sought to retain the mature trees on the eastern edge of Wrotham Road within Site A.
As part of the background work, detailed botanical assessments, as well as bird and bat surveys have been undertaken to assess the ecological baselines of the Sites. As part of each development site, new habitat creation will result in a net gain in biodiversity which will exceed the national requirement of 10%.
Both Sites are within Flood Zone 1 and are at low risk of flooding. It is proposed that flood attenuation basins will be incorporated into the design to ensure surface water drainage will be discharged at a greenfield runoff rate. The sustainable drainage features also provide the opportunity to improve biodiversity, water quality and amenity within the site.
Foul water from the development will be drained to the public sewer network. The developer is working with South East Water to ensure the existing infrastructure has capacity to serve the Sites.
The number and quality of the existing trees within the two Sites have been assessed by a qualified Arboriculturist (to British Standard 5837: 2012). The surveys that will accompany the planning applications will guide the development proposals by highlighting those trees and hedgerows that are of significance, and how best to protect trees during construction works through standard mitigation measures.
The Sites are not located within an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA). There are no main pollution sources in the vicinity of the Sites; however, modelling will be undertaken to assess the potential impact of traffic associated with the proposed development at receptors which are considered to be sensitive to air quality. Air Quality Assessments will be submitted with the applications.
The existing noise climate is likely to be dominated by road traffic on Wrotham Road. A noise survey shall be undertaken to inform Noise Assessments which will demonstrate that noise standards can be met across both Sites. It is expected that the required standards can be met through the design and placement of dwellings, rather than an acoustic fence, and that this can be secured through a condition.
The Sites have been utilised for agricultural land uses with no history of contaminative land uses being present on site. No source of contamination has been identified on or near to the Sites that would be a constraint to development.