Hoo Development Framework

These "principles " are fine but they are not adhered to by the proposals, in particular the A228 SPLITS the "town" of Hoo if building is allowed on the other side of the road at Deangate and also on land owned by Homes England ( who, by the way should be declaring an interest.) This will lead to an awkward community, much as Chattenden is already an example of, rather than a sustainable and vibrant one. The railway proposals have been strangled at birth because of the deletion of the Medway Loop meaning the destination is now Gravesend, again introducing a split personality into the town which is linked by road and proximity to Strood and the rest of the Medway Towns, and by rail to Gravesend and Gravesham council. The reg=quency and size of the train ( two carriages, one per hour) are less than desirable also. For such a huge increase in size, the community facilities required are inadequate and there is no certainty on funding,, Clearly little thought has been given to the sports centre and the aspiration to an Olympic sized swimming pool has been rapidly dropped already. The GP services out here are already inadequate and local people will need reassuring that they can and will improve, and nothing in this document suggests that this is being taken sufficiently seriously. The dropping of the shared bridge is the latest sustainable aspect which has been dropped. This settlement will, if anything be far less sustainable than Strood or the other Medway Towns. The relief road, with a current speeding limit of 20mph is also liable to mean that it will not be taken seriously or be able to take the large amounts of traffic at peak times that the extra residents and their cars will need. It is clear that there is a conflict of interest for Medway Council here, who have placed a new road ( which was not in the original plans) through Deangate, thus helping the "profitability" of their aspirations for housebuilding on Deangate, but this will mean that funds are diverted away from other aspects, such as the railway. They need to explain why houses should be built on such sensitive land adjacent to a SSI, when at one and the same time they are guardians of the whole process with regard to ecological and habitat sustainability. The green zones are a good idea, however very thin in places and down to 10 m. The protection accorded to RAMSAR and SPA sites is unlikely to be siufficient, and this is supported in the Birdwise strategy who say that "The number of birds using the three SPAs has declined markedly, in particular on the Medway at locations with the highest levels of access; • and furthermore stated that: “Access levels are linked to local housing. It is not possible to rule out likely significant effects on the integrity of the protected sites as a result of increased housing;” So , in summary, point 1) NO this is led by the demands of the local plan to have a very high number of houses built not by the leading of the landscape. It would appear that political considerations have meant that houses have been directed on to the peninsula rather than elsewhere. 2 and 3)) The settlement of this size has no capacity studies to ensure that the traffic and the local wildlife can co-exist - this whole evidence base is still missing for the public, but there is every reason to believe that the studies have in fact been completed. The railway is quickly becoming sub optimal with only one service per hour and it is not promoting connectivity with Medway. The loss of the shared brides a devastating blow to connectivity, and the Four Elms Hill roundabout is a cause for concern in the light of the lack of an evidence base.

Strongly disagree

Because of the lack of an evidence base the premise of this is that 10,500 homes can be accommodated on the peninsula which is very uncertain. Until and unless that evidence base is forthcoming we should not be proceeding, because the logical track of progression is that the capacity must be ascertained first before the promise of homes is sealed. This exercise is putting the cart before the horse. The basic identity of the peninsula is not as a housing destination, rather it has become known as an energy infrastructure hub and a wildlife haven. These two identities remain the strongest features of the peninsula, housing coming in third and with the potential to disrupt the other two, by Human interference with the environment and by traffic congestion to potentially disrupt business continuity for the vibrant business community, which involves the largest LNG terminal in Europe, and the eight largest in the world. In 2018 Medway Council cabinet made the right decision to undertake the necessary capacity studies, however has recently revealed that these decision, while never rescinded, were also never implemented. This is a failure of governance, and bodes ill for the competence of the council to manage the whole infrastructure project in a way that is respectful and sustainable , and also in away that gains the trust of the local community, which has been severely dented ever since the two events of the a) abject failure of the previous local plan in 2013 and b) the closure of the council owned golf Course at Deangate one week's notice.

the neighbourhoods on the "wrong " side of the peninsula way will be cut off from the rest of Hoo by a very large road. This will create a split community.The solution is not to build houses on Deangate and on the land owned by Homes England.which are, after all, on very environmentally sensitive land.

There seems to be a very big black hole in the finances and the difficulties of this will only become apparent late. There is a lot of over promising and under delivering which is failing to build trust with the local community.

There are far too many houses proposed, and there is a black hole in the finances, which have been overtaken by events ( this whole thing is taking far too long) There is no surety about the railway plan and it is continuously being truncated further and has lost the Medway Link which is a disaster for place making. The shared bridge has now been dropped. There is a lot of over promising and under delivering going on and people have lost faith in the progress, it now appearing as a crowbar to put houses on the peninsula, thus avoiding other areas of Medway, but vague promises of infrastructure and community facilities seem to be disappearing one by one.

Strongly disagree

Basically far too much housing on sensitive areas. Not enough certainty that the transport aspect is sustainable, with the relief road having 20mph issues. Green spaces corridors are being reduced to 10m !! the shared bridge is gone and there should be a bi pass, not an "A" road going through the middle of what will be Hoo!! This is the opposite of place making. The land owned by Homes England and the Deangate Ridge, owned by Medway Council, should not be built upon because A) There is a conflict of interest as Homes iEngland is the Funder and Medway Council is controlling the project as administrator and bureaucrat. B) The areas of scientific and natural interest are right next door to these two areas, C) They are the wrong side of the A228 which will give a hideous split in the town of Hoo

There are too many proposed new neighbourhoods. In my opinion about 5,000 homes would be about right. There is a lot of uncertainty about the infrastructure and what level of growth it can sustain, particularly the relief road, and studies need to be released which can show sustainability. There also needs to be room left to grow, particularly the energy infrastructure, which is of national importance, and the Kingsnorth industrial area. If these can be grown then there will be jobs for the people in the new houses and then they wouldn't need to necessarily commute on and off the peninsula every day.

This is a very short consultation which lacks specificity as to any of the details, particularly around the replacement for Hoo swimming pool which is now 50 years old. There need to be new facilities in place for the residents of the new houses before time rather than years after the event. Like a good meal in a restaurant, timeliness is important for enjoyment and if you are left waiting for long periods between courses it can be very irritating and spoil the enjoyment.It is particularly difficult to get GP services in this area.