insideKENT Magazine Issue 25 - April 2014 | Page 154
PROPERTY
Kent housing development
is shining example of planning in partnership
A project to build new homes on the site of a
burnt-out pub in the conservation area of a Kent
village has been highlighted nationally as a shining
example of how developers, planners and
residents can work together.
Maidstone-based Wealden Homes built
three terraced houses on the derelict site of the
former Wheatsheaf pub in Kemsing, near
Sevenoaks, after detailed consultations with
Sevenoaks District Council and Kemsing Parish
Council, who liaised with nearby residents. All
three houses were released last year, and all are
now sold.
Following the success of the scheme, it
was chosen as a case study for a Local
Government Association (LGA) publication
showcasing partnership approaches to positive
planning. Planning Positively Through Partnership
was launched jointly by the LGA, the Home
Builders’ Federation (HBF) and the British Property
Foundation (BPF).
W
ealden Homes’ Land and Planning director,
Graham Norton, said the Kemsing site