Knockhall Chase plans revised, but serious questions remain

ReformUK councillor scrutinises revised plans by the developer of the former Pit 11 landfill site at Knockhall Chase.

The number of homes has been reduced from a maximum of 400 to 323, and the proposed four-storey buildings have been removed. However, this remains a very substantial development, with new accesses onto both Knockhall Chase and London Road. The application wording also continues to allow a mixture of ordinary housing and C2 residential institutions. 

Having reviewed the latest documents, there remain important issues which deserve close scrutiny.

Perhaps most strikingly, the developer's own environmental assessment acknowledges significant adverse landscape and visual effects which would remain even 15 years after completion, once proposed planting has matured. 

Papers indicate that in the first year after the development is completed, the landscape and visual effects on residents of Knockhall Chase, residents of Port Avenue and users of Footpath 141 would be assessed as Major Adverse. Only after approximately 15 years, when the proposed planting has matured, are those effects expected to reduce to Moderate Adverse.

This is also a former landfill site. The submitted assessment identifies contamination, landfill gas, groundwater and ground-stability risks which would require remediation, gas protection, verification and monitoring.

There are also unanswered questions over the impact on local infrastructure. The applicant states that no specific additional infrastructure contribution or methodology has yet been accepted, with the final Section 106 package still to be negotiated. 

And residents should be aware that the attractive masterplan being circulated is illustrative rather than the final development layout. Most detailed matters remain reserved for later consideration. Some of the earlier illustrative images showed properties designs that leaned on the 'shanty town' aesthetic.

The reduction from 400 homes is clearly a response to the concerns already raised locally, but the revised application still leaves significant questions around traffic and access, pressure on local services, the landfill legacy and the lasting impact on neighbouring homes and the character of this part of Greenhithe.

If you share my concerns, I encourage you to submit your own representation to Dartford Borough Council. If you commented on the original scheme, you can also write again specifically about the revised proposals.

https://publicaccess.dartford.gov.uk/online-applications/search.do  [Search for 25/00464/OUT] 

Representations are most useful when they explain how the development would affect you or the local area and concentrate on genuine planning matters — for example:
traffic and highway capacity; access onto Knockhall Chase or London Road; landscape and visual impact; the scale and density of development; neighbouring amenity; contamination/landfill issues; drainage; ecology; and pressure on local infrastructure.

Please use your own words and include any local knowledge or particular circumstances you think the planning authority should consider.