The Village Team

The Village Teams Vision for Sellindge

The Village Team identified the two best performing options and these have formed the basis of the proposals presented today. The two options have many common themes that are central to the teams vision for the village.

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The Workshops
The masterplanning process has been structured around a series of Village Team workshops:

Creating a new place as the heart of Sellindge A walkable community focused around a new village green or common with improved choice of local shops and facilities.

Background to community involvement

The masterplanning project has aimed to support community-led proposals for the village. The process has been supported by independent consultants, Urban Initiatives who are appointed by the Council and paid for by the Homes and Communities Agency. The Village Team comprises representatives and Sellindge residents from: the Parish Council, Residents Association, Primary School, Sellindge Playing Fields, local faith groups, Kent Highways, elected Shepway Council members and other organisations representing village life.

The Residents Association plan

Workshop 1: Placecheck
A walkabout around the village to identify problems and opportunities.

Workshop 2: The Village Game

An interactive board game that allows participants to explore a variety of different approaches and locations for development. The Village Game comprises: A Board based on an aerial photograph of the village overlaid with a 200x200m grid. Tiles representing different land uses including homes at different densities including affordable housing, community facilities, open space mixed residential and retail development and employment. These are laid out onto the board grid. A simultaneous computer model demonstrates the link between development and delivery of new community infrastructure. No maximum or minimum amount of development was prescribed. Instead, participants explored varying amounts of development and the community benefits each could bring. The Village Team explored a series of options that were worked up into initial sketch plans by the consultants.

Landowners surgeries
In parallel with the Village Team workshops, Urban Initiatives also met individual local landowners and possible developers to explain the masterplanning process and obtain background technical information on their land.

Proposals outside Sellindge

The Village Team were also concerned about development outside Sellindge putting pressures on community infrastructure. At present, many of these outlying proposals are uncertain or speculative. The situation for each is summarised in the table below:

Health Care

Sellindge Surgery was designed for up to 5,000 patients. They have told us that the surgery has some possible spare capacity and space but they are currently under strength by 1 GP and will need to recruit. In terms of the NHS and views on provision in the area, the Primary Care Trust (PCT) has stated that capacity also exists within the surgeries at Oaklands and Sun Lane, Hythe to accommodate the possible growth elsewhere in the area.

Public Transport

Stagecoach - Stagecaoch see the A20 corridor as a key priority for improvement linked to the additional growth within the district, with preexisting aspirations to improve the frequency of the current route. Kent County Council has identified a preferred site, off the M20 at Aldington for a permanent lorry park to provide a solution to problems caused by Operation Stack. This is outside Shepway but lies near Sellindge parish boundary. It is understood that the funding necessary to build the lorry park has not been found and the proposal has so far not been progressed.

Workshop 3: Preparing and Testing Options

Sketch plans developed from the results of the Village Game workshop were presented back to the Village Team for their comments. In drawing up these sketch layouts, the consultants tested the options against technical site constraints and against financial viability (non-viable options have been omitted all options taken forward to this exhibition are considered viable.) The Options were then tested by the Village Team, measuring success of each against the following objectives: Making a compact and walkable village Overcoming the barrier of the A20 Providing a stronger central focus for the village Providing sufficient community benefits. Improving the quantity and quality of public open spaces Locating housing to contribute to the vitality of the village

Proposed Lorry Park

Education

Development of the maximum number of new homes currently being proposed (but not yet permitted) in the wider area is likely to generate the need for an additional 1 to 1.5-form entry capacity. Sellindge Primary School currently has a 0.5-form entry. This could be met by expansion and/or a new school in the wider area: Extension of Sellindge Primary school to a 1-form entry school New 1-form entry primary school at Folkestone Racecourse or Lympne (for further discussion with developers if proposals proceed).

Former Airfield, Lympne

Identified in Shepway Councils 2009 Core Strategy preferred option stage as a site to accommodate housing growth. Developers are currently promoting this site for new housing. Lympne Parish Council is discussing smaller-scale alternatives with Shepway. Options for Lympne could be established through a community-led approach similar to the Sellindge Village Team.

Folkestone Racecourse

Identified in Shepway Councils 2009 Core Strategy preferred option stage as a site for regeneration. Proposed to be allocated for a high quality mixed use development. Developers have submitted a masterplan to Shepway Council for 800 homes and a wholly realign racecourse for consideration. This requires increased contributions to infrastructure e.g. possible new school to be discussed.

Traffic and Highways

Shepway District Council currently looking into the impact of the proposed growth areas on traffic volumes throughout Shepway including examination of Newingreen Junction. Discussions with Kent Council highays team have agreed: improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists by reducing the speed limit on the approaches to the village from 40mph to 30mph change driver behavior from rural highway to village street by installing traffic calming and landscape treatments improve the provision and management of on street parking

Village Team engaged in the Village Game

Otterpool Quarry

An application for a recycling facility was submitted to Kent County Council in 2008. Shepway District Council as a consultee to the decision has objected on the basis of traffic conditions and proposed landscaping. It is understood Kent County Council have yet to determine the application.