Kevin McKenna MP revealed as the person who got Highsted Park Called in

A matter of weeks after a photo opportunity with the applicant Mark Quinn and just two days prior to the application being called in by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Kevin McKenna MP wrote to Angela Rayner requesting that the larger of the two applications be called in.

Clearly there are deep fractures within the local Labour Party with the Labour MP and local Labour councillors both claiming to represent the interests of residents and yet both having diametrically opposing views on the application.

I believe that Kevin McKenna MP has just cost the tax payer a substantial sum of money by taking this course of action, as there was never any guarantee that both applications would have been appealed by the applicant. In fact, in my own humble opinion the larger of the two applications was far more problematic and clearly the applicant thought so to, otherwise why split the scheme into separate applications in the first place.

Interestingly though Kevin McKenna only requested that the Southern application was called in, which either suggest that he was unaware that there are two separate planning applications, or that he was made aware that this application had the least chance of getting approval.

However, it’s all a bit embarrassing for poor old Kevin as he obviously hasn’t clocked that the southern application is utterly dependent on the northern application and had only this application being called in, it could not have been resolved or would more likely have been thrown out.

It’s funny but the previous incumbent always stated that they were not able to intervene in planning applications and now suddenly an MP can not only intervene, but do so, on behalf of his neighbouring member of parliament.

There are a few mistakes in his letter which clearly illustrates his lack of knowledge and awareness of the detail of the subject on which he so passionately speaks in favour of.

In the letter Kevin states

“I believe that this development at Highsted Park meets the grounds for a call in as set out in legislation, in particular that it may have a significant long-term impact on economic growth and meets housing needs across a wider area than a single local authority.”

“I believe that a decision by you as Secretary of State to call in this application would not only be in the interests of my constituents and their families but would also have a significant long-term impact on economic growth through the injection of an estimated £14.2bn into the economy, as well as making a sizeable contribution to the necessarily ambitious new homes target we have committed to deliver .”

“As the Member of Parliament for Sittingbourne and Sheppey I am requesting that you call in this application.”

I have to say that even I am surprised at the line “meets housing needs across a wider area than a single local authority” which clearly shows that the ‘Get Britain building again’ mantra he trots out is not about local need at all but building for the greater good of the country. This signals more clearly than ever that we are building for anyone and everyone in the Southeast.

As an area of the country which has seen some of the highest rates of development anywhere in the UK, you would have thought that we had already more than delivered.

For a scheme that fails on so many environmental levels the 20% biodiversity net gain is hilarious.

And then there is the old developer, sorry MP, sales pitch about the delivery of new schools and health facilities. In the last 20 years, exactly how many new schools have been delivered?

That would be a big fat ZERO, yes we have a replacement school in Tunstall and a couple of extensions here and there, but not one single new school.

Our health services are in decline, we have less doctors surgeries and less doctors and all the time developers line up to make promises they know they can’t keep.

The Southern Relief Road will shift traffic patterns and it will not improve Air Quality Management Areas most of which are located on the A2 which is predicted to get worse as a result.

His maths skills have also let him down as the 400 per annum figure is for the combined applications which is evident for anyone with even the most basic maths ability, 20 x 400 = 8,000

And finally all these thousands of new jobs it will create, really, if every time I commenced a new project I counted that as a new job, I am personally responsible for creating hundreds of jobs just on my own. 

Article written by Andy Hudson - Sittingbourne.Me