Tory rejects science park housing plan

KENT Science Park's plans for thousands of houses have been described as a "price too high" by a leading Swale politician.

Cllr Andrew Bowles, the Tory leader of Swale Council, was commenting on ambitious proposals to expand the former Shell Research Centre that include 5,000 new homes.

Members of the public who attended a meeting at the Wyvern Hall last month were told the scheme — an enlarged science park, a new A2/M2 link road, and the housing — could not be "cherry-picked".

But Cllr Bowles said: "The position has always been that we support the science park and hope it succeeds. But we are totally opposed to housing in-that area"

Council officials have met science park bosses to discuss their aspirations for the site over the next 20 to 25 years and its current restrictions in terms of growth.

However, Cllr Bowles said the council did not take part in a recent public consultation on the plans and did not have an "official position" regarding the proposals.

While he is against the housing plans, Cllr Bowles said he was in favour of the expansion of the science park outside its current boundary, although not south of the M2.

He said a larger park would help it compete with established science parks and dismissed other options for a similar development, such as Queenborough or north Sittingbourne, as less attractive.

He said: "It is something I would support, in terms of bringing high-quality employment to Swale. The only option we have is the science park where there are a group of like-minded individuals. Those people do not want to be stuck on the Eurolink. Housing? No. That's a price too high.

"But it's not down to me. It's what the voters and residents of Swale want that matters."

Cllr Bowles said the timescale of the plans were important because Swale's cur-rent workforce did not have the skills to take advantage of such opportunities.

He warned that education must improve or the jobs could be lost to people from outside the borough.

The provision of an A2/M2 link road has also proved controversial, but Cllr Bowles said the need for it was yet to be proved. It could become necessary, but only in many years to come.

Cllr Bowles added: "We would like a full study in the light of how it will be when the Northern Relief Road is completed."

He said traffic problems associated with an expanded science park would have to be overcome, but added that it could not necessarily be solved by a southern relief road.

Responding to the comments by Cllr Bowles, Andrew Bull of LaSalle Investment Management said: "The Kent Science Park: the Future proposals are an integrated pack-age which will bring about the regeneration of Sittingbourne.

"It is our understanding that there is currently no other way of financing the construction of the proposed M2/A2 link road and motorway junction and core parts of that package, other than through the sale of land for development.

"Without the housing element of these proposals, there is no road and related infra-structure. Without the road, there is no expansion of Kent Science Park and the jobs and career opportunities that Swale so vitally needs.

"It is our understanding that Cllr Bowles is supportive of the construction of the M2/A2 link, recognising the fact that when the Northern Relief Road is complete there will be a need for an agreed southern route to avoid the A2 alone having to bear the weight of increased traffic from the northern route."

Mr Bull continued: "We, along with Swale Council, including Cllr Bowles and Locate in Kent, tried to secure 400 jobs and a multi-million pound investment by Eisai, the Japanese pharmaceutical company.

"Unfortunately, the lack of a link road between the M2 and A2 was the definitive factor in its decision not to establish its UK operation in Kent"

PARK FACTS

• More than 1,000 people lost their job when Shell left in 1995
• The science park is occupied by about 80 firms employing more than 1,000 people
• The park's expansion could create 5,000 jobs
• The proposal is to enlarge the science park by 51 hectares
• A 54-hectare country park is also part of the plans
  

This article is used with the kind permission of The Gazette & Times