Catesby Estates is preparing proposals for new homes, public open space and other community facilities on land off Stoke Road and Binney Road, Allhallows.
As part of designing a high-quality development we are seeking your feedback on our emerging proposals before we submit an outline planning application to Medway Council.
To assist this process we have prepared an indicative framework plan showing the potential layout including vehicle/pedestrian access points, public open space and other infrastructure.
Come along and speak to our team:Allhallows Village Hall, 28-32 Stoke Road, Allhallows, ME3 9PG.Wednesday 28th May 2025 Session 1 2.30pm - 4.30pm Session 2 5.00pm – 7.30pm If you are unable to attend, you can find out more, submit your feedback and track our progress via this website. We will update this website on a regular basis as our proposals and our planning application for the site progresses. You can submit your feedback by using the 'Have your Say' form, or by using any of the other feedback options detailed on this website. |
The Government requires every Local Plan to be reviewed at least once every five years.
The Medway Local Plan is currently out of date, and in line with new national policy introduced by the Labour Government, Medway Council will need to plan for at least 1,658 new homes a year.
A Local Plan guides decisions on future development proposals and addresses the needs and opportunities of the area. Local Plans usually cover items such as housing, employment and retail, and they also identify where development should take place along with areas where development should be restricted.
The latest Medway Local Plan consultation (Regulation 18) closed in September 2024. It is the Council’s intention to consult on a revised version of the plan later this year.
The most recent consultation showed Allhallows to be an area for residential growth which would also support non-residential (industry) growth at the Isle of Grain.
This site was shown to a be an ‘Indicative Preferred Site’.
Extensive Public Open Space. As part of this consultation, we are looking to the community for suggestions on what public open space facilities are required in Allhallows and would welcome further suggestions.
Our initial proposals include:
Ecology. The development proposals incorporate a significant area for ecological enhancement and provision of green space, which will also serve as a large buffer between the proposed development area, and the nearby internationally designated conservation area.
This new green space includes 1ha of land managed specifically to benefit reptiles, and a wide ‘dark corridor’ along the eastern boundary for commuting and foraging bats.
The creation of additional green space is expected to provide improved habitat for invertebrates, which in turn benefits other species higher up the food chain, such as foraging bats and breeding birds.
Therefore, the project is expected to deliver ecological benefits on a wider scale and an overall improvement in biodiversity. This will include delivering at least 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).
Bird surveys including (breeding surveys) have also been undertaken.
Other surveys found a low population of reptile (slow worm, common lizard and grass snake) and recorded low levels of bat activity across the site (primarily bats were recorded foraging along the eastern boundary). No evidence of badger setts were found within the site. All of these species were found to be restricted to field boundary habitats, of which the majority are to be retained.
Highways And Access. Primary access to the site is off Stoke Road and will be designed in accordance with national guidance, taking into account vehicle flows and recorded speeds.
The access to the east of Stoke Road serving the main development site will be 5.5m wide and will include provision for active travel. A potential secondary access to the east will be from Binney Road.
Pedestrian access would be via Stoke Road and Binney Road, with connections provided between the site and existing facilities, along with localised improvements.
A strategy for improving bus access would form part of the development proposals for the site and would be informed by discussions with the local authority and bus operators.
A Transport Assessment will be submitted in support of a future planning application and will be informed by traffic surveys at those junctions where the development’s forecast traffic is considered to effect.
The results of these surveys will be used to inform junction capacity assessments, which demonstrate how a junction performs at the moment and how it is likely to in the future. In addition to this, the Transport Assessment will review local highway safety and sustainable transport facilities in the area.
The application will also be supported by a Residential Travel Plan, which will set out measures to reduce single occupancy car journeys associated with the site.
Air Quality. A robust Air Quality Assessment will be prepared in consultation with the Environmental Protection team at Medway Council (MC).
MC currently has four Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs), the nearest of which is the Four Elms Hill AQMA which is located approximately 10km from the site (AQMA) therefore the site is not located within or close to an AQMA.
Local air quality monitoring and estimated background concentrations available from the Defra LAQM Tools website suggest that existing ‘baseline’ air quality is likely to be good
Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP). A CEMP will be prepared and implemented during the construction phase of the proposed development and would include a series of best practice measures to control dust, noise and surface water runoff.
New Homes. Approximately 350 new net zero ready homes with a mix of house sizes and types, ranging from 1 to 4 bed properties to meet local policy requirements and identified need
Affordable Housing. 25% affordable housing (88 homes).
Affordable housing is a combination of social rented, affordable rent and shared ownership housing, provided to eligible households whose needs are not met by the market
How people access affordable housing depends on its tenure.
Generally, Local Authorities are responsible for allocating affordable housing for rent.
In many instances, they will require that a local connection is demonstrated for someone to be eligible for a home. In some cases, applicants must have lived in the local area for a minimum of two years and these homes may be offered to applicants who can demonstrate family ties to the local area, or to people who previously lived in the area.
Community Benefits. There is the opportunity to provide additional community benefits, and we need your help to ensure we deliver the right benefits for the Allhallows community.
We recognise there is a well-used existing village hall and local cafe, and we would welcome feedback on additional community benefits and facilities that local residents would like to see provided alongside the new homes.
We will also be seeking your views on the current bus services and how these could be improved to help make accessing services and places of work in nearby towns easier and more convenient.
Flooding, Drainage Foul Water & Utilities. The planning application will be accompanied by a full National Planning Policy compliant Flood Risk Assessment, which assesses the site with respect to all types of flood risk.
The development area of the site is located in Flood Zone 1, the lowest probability of fluvial flooding.
The indicative surface water drainage strategy will be designed in accordance with the relevant technical standards and will adhere to the guidelines as stipulated by the Lead Local Flood Authority. The proposal will ensure that any offsite discharges will be limited to the greenfield runoff rate. The drainage scheme will also ensure that onsite attenuation for the 100-year storm with an appropriate allowance for climate change is provided.
Onsite surface water attenuation will be provided in a range of sustainable drainage features. These features will not only provide attenuation but also provide significant water quality and ecological benefits.
Foul Water and Utilities. The surrounding utility infrastructure (foul water, electricity, gas etc) will be assessed as part of a Utilities Assessment.
Where necessary any capacity constraints will be identified and suitable mitigation/diversions proposed.
Archaeology And Heritage. There are no designated heritage assets located within the study site.
Slough Fort lies c. 650m north of the site. This defensive complex dates from the 1860s and is both a Scheduled Monument and Grade II* Listed Building. The Second World War bombing decoy site that is located c. 950 east of the site is also a Scheduled Monument. It is unlikely that the development will impact upon the setting or significance of these archaeological heritage assets.
There is potential for archaeological remains dating from the prehistoric and Roman periods being present on the site (although relatively little has previously been found in the area). However, should archaeological remains be found there are not anticipated to present a constraint on development.
The key designated built heritage assets within the vicinity of the site are All Saints Church (Grade I) and the Rose and Crown Public House (Grade II).
Reduced Energy Consumption Design. New and existing homes account for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK.
The proposed dwellings will be designed to align with the Government’s Interim Future Homes Standard, which requires a 31% improvement over the current requirements.
To achieve this the homes and buildings will feature enhanced insulation standards, heat pump heating and hot water systems and photovoltaic panels throughout.
Noise. A baseline noise survey would be undertaken in line with current planning policy and technical guidance.
Site observations have identified that the dominant source of noise affecting the proposed development site is likely to be vehicle movements along the A228 dual carriageway, Stoke Road, Binney Road and Avery Way.
Mitigation measures will be utilised to control noise impacts on the new homes from surrounding noise sources, including appropriate façade construction in the form of double glazing units and ventilators, stand-off distances and boundary mitigation. The details of which would be determined through assessment.
Lighting. A Lighting Impact Assessment will be carried out and will be included with the outline planning application.
This provides design parameters for lighting the site to create a safe public realm environment while being sympathetic to the local surroundings, avoiding over lighting, sky glow, and glare.
In terms of nature conservation, lighting will be carefully selected and located to maintain a safe public realm alongside identifying specific ‘dark corridors’ within the site to support nature conservation routes.
This is an opportunity for you to have your say:
Your feedback will help shape our proposals before we submit our planning application. Comments received will be compiled in a Statement of Community Involvement which will be submitted with our planning application.
Any comments you make in response to these proposals will not affect your right to comment on the planning application submitted to the Local Authority in due course.
Please let us have your feedback by no later than Sunday 8th June 2025
The site adjoins the south-eastern edge of the village of Allhallows, along Stoke Road and Binney Road/Dairy Fields Close. It is not situated in any designated landscapes at a national or local level, and no Public Rights of Way are located within it.
Within the site and its vicinity, the landform gently slopes eastwards from Stoke Road towards the flatter landform of the Allhallows Marshes.
A network of Public Rights of Way, including the King Charles III England Coast Path, provides access through Allhallows Marshes beyond the site,
The site and its surrounding landscape are generally open, with limited vegetation within the fields and along their boundaries.
Planning ApplicationWe will be submitting an outline planning application with all matters reserved (excluding access). Outline planning applications seek to establish whether the scale and nature of a proposed development would be acceptable to the Local Planning Authority, before a fully detailed proposal is put forward. Where outline permission has been granted, and within three years of the outline approval, an application for the outstanding reserved matters can be submitted, i.e. the information excluded from the initial outline planning application. This will typically include information about the layout, scale and appearance of the development. Statutory consultees (eg. Environment Agency, Highways England, Natural England and Parish Councils) and local residents will also have the opportunity to formally comment on the applications once they are submitted and registered with the Local Authority. |
The economic benefits of new housing development are significant. A study by the Confederation of British Industries (CBI) demonstrates that construction projects have a significant benefit on the local and wider economy. The report concludes that for every £1 of construction expenditure, £2.84 is injected into the economy.
The proposed development of new homes, offers the opportunity to stimulate economic growth, create jobs, assist in meeting local housing need and add to the Local Authority’s revenue, as a result of an increase in Council Tax revenue stream and the New Homes Bonus.
The delivery of new homes and the introduction of new residents will also help support existing local businesses, services and groups.
Head Office: Orchard House, Papple Close,
Houlton, Rugby, CV23 1EW
South East Office: The Grosvenor,
Basing View, Basingstoke, RG21 4HG
Keep up to date with all the latest information from Catesby Estates and our strategic land promotion work.
