Highsted Park Update – Inspector’s Report Submitted

Today we received confirmation from the Planning Inspectorate that the Inspector’s Report has now been submitted to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

This marks another major milestone in a process that began when the applications were called in by the Secretary of State on 5 November 2024.

Since then, there has been:

* A Public Inquiry lasting many months, with evidence heard over 54 sitting days.
* Hundreds of documents submitted and scrutinised.
* Extensive written representations, expert evidence and legal submissions.
* Post-inquiry work, including closing submissions, final Section 106 agreements and additional information requested by the Inspector.

After considering all of the evidence, the Inspector has now completed her report and submitted it to the Secretary of State.

The Planning Inspectorate has confirmed that the Secretary of State’s decision will be issued on or before 30 September 2026.

STOP HIGHSTED PARK

We would like to thank everyone who has supported the campaign throughout this process. Whether you attended inquiry sessions, submitted representations, volunteered your time, donated towards expert evidence, or helped keep the community informed, every contribution has made a difference.

The Five Parishes Group has worked alongside our parish councils and professional advisers to ensure the voices of local communities were fully heard.

We will continue to keep everyone updated and will share the Secretary of State’s decision as soon as it is announced.

Thank you for your continued support.
Five Parishes Group

Please keep donating towards our campaign. 

Closing Statement

You can read the full text of our closing statement by downloading the attached PDF

Download our leaflets and use reverse side as a poster

Click on any of the leaflets below to download

Woodstock Road
Have Your Say
Stockers Hill Leaflet
Donations Leaflet
Kent Wildlife Trust Leaflet
NHS Leaflet

The Five Parishes Group has existed for 20 years, providing a centralised, uniform voice for both residents and the parish councils of Bapchild, Bredgar, Milstead, Rodmersham, Tunstall and Wormshill who oppose the Highsted Park scheme.

Already this year we have assembled a professional team to assist the group fighting the Highsted Park applications.  Jointly with the Teynham & Highsted Action Group. we’ve appointed Dr Nicholas Doggett as Heritage consultant and Simon Bell  as Barrister, from The Barrister Group.  In addition, the Five Parishes Group are covering a broader number of subjects and have also appointed professionals including Continuum to act as Viability experts.  



This professional work costs money. Late last year we asked or donations to help fund these experts. To date we have raised £70,385 significant progress towards our target of £95,000.

Thank you to everyone who has already donated, and please take time to think about how YOU can help us even more. We have good facts, feedback and points of view to share, but we can only appoint experts to support us when we have the funds un place.  Whatever you can afford, please do donate to our campaign.

Highsted Park - a brief overview of the proposal

1. The application consists of two developments:

• Highsted Park North, surrounding Bapchild, for 1,250 homes
• Highsted Park South, around Rodmersham and HIghsted Valley, for 7,150 homes.

• a Northern Relief Raid through the countryside park at Bapchild and Tonge
• a southern bypass Road via Bapchild, Rodmersham, Tunstall and close to Bredgar and Milstead
• The construction of a new Junction on the M2, located within the Kent Downs National Landscape