KSP Debate Continues

Formula for the science park is right, says chief

THE two meetings last week on the future of Kent Science Park (KSP) could not have been more contrasting. The public has been airing its views on KSP proposals for an expanded science park, 4,500 new homes, a new A2/M2 link and a 56-hectare country park. Just 40 people were at Borden Grammar School to hear KSP project leaders give an update on their ambitious plans. While two days later, at the invite of Tunstall residents, the village hall was packed with more than 120 for a presentation by the Five Parishes' Opposition Group.


A KEY figure behind plans to expand Kent Science Park said he was encouraged by last week's public meeting that was dominated by attempts to justify the proposed number of new homes.

The event was arranged to give feed-back following a public consultation exercise that began in July.

Andrew Bull, of LaSalle Investment Management, speaking the day after the meeting and referring to the remodelled masterplan, said: "I think there were a number of people that said, on balance, we could probably cope with that, the whole thing."

Mr Bull said the major concerns to come out of the consultation process were the expansion of KSP, the extent and type of housing proposed, loss of access to the countryside, the need for a relief road and junction on the M2 and whether there is sufficient water.

Changes to the original proposals include the number of new homes being reduced from 5,000 to 4,500, 1,350 of the classed as "affordable." Mr Bull added: "We also looked at the siting of the housing, keeping Sittingbourne and Bapchild separate. Therefore the number of houses came down slightly."

A demographic expert told the meeting Sittingbourne needed new homes to accommodate its existing population.

Stephen Clyne said the number of people living in the town would fall by 16
per cent if no new homes were built in the next 25 years. He claimed the KSP development would not lead to huge numbers of new people moving to Sittingbourne, based on the theory there will be more households in future, with more people living alone or as pairs.

But people at the meeting remained unconvinced by the need to build homes on farmland, rather than on brownfield sites elsewhere around the town.
One member of the audience questioned why the development could not take place where infrastructure already existed, and another raised concerns
about the impact on current routes, such as Ruins Barn Road.

Persuading people to leave their cars at home is one of the crucial themes of the KSP masterplan. Mr Bull said the Government was planning to reduce car journeys by stopping employees parking at their work place.

He also spoke of the opportunity for KSP to make a good first impression to anyone visiting Sittingbourne, if they were to use a new motorway junction. "We believe that this first impression we will create will increase the chances of attracting employers to the area."