Hoo Development Framework

Our particular focus is on the practical application of principle 2, and its impact on principle 3. We are concerned that the short-term limitation of the Housing Infrastructure Fund allocation for rail is inhibiting the scale of intervention required to secure accessibility and sustainability at appropriate levels of quality and attractiveness for future residents, business and visitors.

Somewhat agree

While a new passenger rail station is essential, the level of service and choice of destinations which it offers will be fundamental for meeting the travel needs of the community most sustainably.

We endorse the narrative for the ‘East of Hoo St. Werburgh’ neighbourhood as the one adjacent to the proposed passenger railway station.

We compare the different rail transport outcomes between two similar-size new communities in different parts of the Thames Estuary. Barking Riverside has recently secured a new rail line extension and station served by a turn-up-and-go quarter-hourly service frequency, through the use of Grampian planning conditions and developer contributions. The Hoo Development Framework must in our view establish the pivotal role of rail as the transport mode of choice for incoming residents and businesses and as enabler of other key principles being secured. That policy commitment must then inform development management decisions and developer contributions, including innovative financial instruments such as land value capture – as pioneered on the freight-only Northumberland Line being upgraded for passenger use with six new stations – which can complement conventional planning agreements. New sources of finance independent of the national Exchequer can allow direct local partnerships to develop incrementally the full connectivity potential of the new transport asset. We are in a position to broker initial conversations.