Public Consultation & Planning
The process outlined here shows how this exciting project has evolved during the past ten years.
Public Consultation
Chilmington Green has come a long way since it was first conceived, with the help and co-operation of a great many residents and stakeholders from Ashford and the surrounding villages through an extensive programme of public consultation.
The current focus is on creating a master plan for Chilmington Green, including concepts which have evolved with the help of local people over the past few years, showing how and where the new housing, shops, schools and green open spaces will work alongside each other.
September 2008 & February 2009: Initial stakeholder workshops held to discuss and explore Chilmington Green.
A tour of the Chilmington Green area
July 2010: A stakeholder workshop event was held to present the emerging master plan for Chilmington Green, and was attended by around 70 people including Councillors and local residents.
September 2010: A Design Excellence Workshop was held with Sir Terry Farrell the Design Ambassador for Ashford.
September 2010: A two day Community Planning event was held where local people had the opportunity to view and comment on emerging ideas and to participate in workshops and walkabouts to explore local and site specific issues. Over 120 local people attended the event and expressed their views and ideas about the new development.
October 2010: An open meeting Feedback Session was held to present all of the information and views gathered at the September events, and showed how this information has been used to contribute towards the emerging ‘vision’ for Chilmington Green’s future development as a sustainable, new neighborhood for Ashford. (see Document Library for downloadable reports)
Spring 2011: A further stakeholder workshop event is planned to present the updated master plan and obtain feedback. There will also be a public exhibition to follow the workshop.
In addition there is a Community Stakeholder Group meeting on a regular basis. This has been established since 2007.
What Next?
The Local Authority will publish their Chilmington Green and Discovery Park Area Action Plan early in 2012, with adoption in late 2012 or early 2013. The Chilmington Green Developers Consortium Master Plan will reflect the emerging Area Action Plan and an outline planning application will be submitted in early 2012 which will enable construction to commence in 2013.
Workshop attendees debate the issues
The Planning History of Chilmington Green
In March 2001, the Government published Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG9) identifying Ashford as one of the growth areas in the South East. It did not determine the scale of such growth but indicated that Local Authorities, together with Regional and Central Government Partners, should carry out studies to assess the scope for growth and how to achieve it.
The Ashford’s Future Study (Halcrow) was published in December 2002. It concluded that within the period to 2031, Ashford had the capacity to provide an additional 31,000 homes and 28,000 jobs, linked to associated social, community and physical infrastructure. Although the Ashford’s Future Study was not a formal policy document, it informed ‘Sustainable Communities in the South East – Building for the Future (ODPM February 2003), Regional Planning Guidance for the South East – Chapter 12 – Ashford’s Growth Area ( Government Office for the South East July 2004) and the draft Kent and Medway Structure Plan ( September 2003).
In February 2004, English Partnerships, on behalf of Ashford Borough Council and Ashford’s Future, appointed a consultant team lead by Urban Initiatives, to commence work on the Greater Ashford Development Framework (GADF). This Master Planning exercise sought to demonstrate how Ashford could be expanded to accommodate 31,000 dwellings and 28,000 jobs by 2031, in accordance with the aims and objectives of the Office of the Deputy Prime minister’s Sustainable Communities Plan.
Urban Initiatives final Master Plan Report, the Greater Ashford Development Framework, was published in April 2005. It identified ‘The Preferred Option’ including a new ‘mixed use neighbourhood at Chilmington Green’.
Ashford Borough Council, as Local Planning Authority, subsequently prepared the Local Development Framework Core Strategy, which was the subject of Public Examination between the 19th June and 16th November 2007. The independent Inspector published his Final Report into the Core Strategy on the 17th June 2008 and the Core Strategy was formally adopted in July 2008.
Core Strategy Policy CS5 endorses the principle of an urban extension at ‘Chilmington Green’ to accommodate no less than 3,350 dwellings and 600 jobs by 2021 and the potential for over 7,000 dwellings and about 1,000 jobs in total. It states: “Area Action Plans will be produced to guide the detailed planning of these areas supplemented where needed by development briefs and design codes.”
The Chilmington Green Developers Consortium, are preparing a Master Plan of the area, in consultation with Ashford Borough Council, local stakeholders and local residents. The emerging Master Plan, together with supporting technical studies, will inform the emerging Area Action Plan, being prepared by Ashford Borough Council.