Councillors vote on Wednesday on asking ministers for a housebuilding moratorium until water firms guarantee supply. Residents can put questions until Monday.

Maidstone councillors will vote on Wednesday on whether to ask the Government for a moratorium on housebuilding in the borough until water companies can guarantee supply.

The motion, titled “Halt the Houses”, is on the agenda for full council at the Town Hall at 6.30pm on Wednesday 30 September. It was put forward by Councillor Stanley Forecast, Conservative member for Palace Wood, and seconded by Councillor Lottie Parfitt, Conservative member for Coxheath and Farleigh (council agenda, item 15).

What the motion asks for

If it passes, the council would resolve to:

  • ask the Leader of the Council to write to the Housing Secretary, requesting a review of whether Maidstone’s housing requirement “remains appropriate and deliverable in light of current and projected infrastructure capacity, particularly water supply”
  • in the same letter, “urge a moratorium on housebuilding until sufficient assurances can be provided by the relevant water companies that adequate water infrastructure is in place”
  • ask the Government to consider making water companies statutory consultees on planning applications for 30 or more homes

The motion does not itself stop any planning decision. It is a request to ministers, made in the council’s name.

The case it makes

The motion starts from the numbers. The adopted Local Plan Review for 2021 to 2038 provides for a minimum of 19,669 new homes in the borough. It says the Government’s increase in housing targets across Kent in December 2024 has added to the pressure.

It then points to water. It says supply shortages have already hit Loose, Headcorn, Coxheath and Marden in the south of the borough, and calls that “a warning”.

It also cites South East Water’s statement that it cannot supply enough water for about a third of the homes proposed next door in Tonbridge and Malling. Building is under way on both sides of the boundary around Hermitage Lane, where, the motion says, water comes from the same source. It says residents of Barming, Allington and Palace Wood are worried about what that means for them.

“We cannot continue to approve planning applications without assurances that the people of Maidstone will have access to a safe and reliable supply of water for drinking and hygiene,” the motion says.

What it means for you

  • You can ask a question at the meeting. Questions from residents must reach the council by 5pm on Monday 28 September, in writing, to committee@maidstone.gov.uk or by calling 01622 602899. The same contacts take requests to make a statement on an agenda item, by 4pm that day.
  • You can watch or attend. The meeting is at the Town Hall on the High Street. The agenda lists the question-and-answer session for residents as item 10.
  • Planning applications carry on as normal whatever the vote. The motion asks ministers to act. It does not change how the council decides applications in the meantime.

The same meeting is asked to adopt new national rules that end parish and councillor call-in of planning applications from 31 October. We have explained what that changes. For the wider picture on housing numbers, see our report on Maidstone’s 1,400 homes a year target.

We will report the outcome of the vote.

Sources