23 February 2022
What we believe: Swale Greens recognise that we are in a climate and ecological emergency, and that every decision should contribute to dealing with it. House building should not be used to stimulate economic growth. Increased road space should not be provided to facilitate house building to pay for the roads. Instead homes necessary to meet local need should be built in the most ecologically sustainable way possible with the necessary infrastructure to meet local needs (e.g. schools, jobs, and medical services). This means homes in towns, near to the services required for daily life, employment sites and public transport hubs. Active travel and public transport must become the default option for most journeys. Locally there is unmet demand for affordable 1- and 2-bedroom homes and homes for social rent. The priority should be to put empty and redundant buildings back into use. New homes should be highly energy efficient and generate renewable energy, ensuring they are both cheap to run and mitigate climate change. We recognise that our high streets are changing and that providing more homes in town centres can contribute to their regeneration. Development on brownfield sites should be prioritised over greenfield sites. Agricultural land is a valuable asset to provide for our needs in the local economy required for a sustainable society. Best and most versatile agricultural land, although extensive in Swale, is a rare national resource. It should not be sacrificed to provide housing development. Access to green spaces for everybody is important for physical and mental health. Swale’s wealth of blue and green assets makes our region an important area for biodiversity. Planning policies should protect wildlife, enhance biodiversity, and provide nature-based solutions to climate change. Adaptation to climate change should be planned to protect residents from the adverse effects of increasingly frequent heavy rainfall events, rising sea levels, water shortages and heat waves.
Working within the current planning system: Swale Borough Council (SBC) adopted a local plan in 2017, under the previous Conservative administration. This plan is due to be reviewed after 5 years. The local plan consists of planning policies (e.g. on biodiversity, sustainable design and construction, air quality etc.) and a spatial strategy of identifying specific sites where development will be permitted. We recognise that the current policies are not fit for purpose, and new policies designed for the climate emergency are required. If an up-to-date local plan is not in place, it becomes more difficult to control speculative development on sites outside the local plan process. Therefore, we recognise that the best way to mitigate such threats is to have an adopted Local Plan in place by 2023, if possible. However, the targets for development are set by an algorithm mandated by central government. Swale are required to provide sites for approximately an extra 10,000 homes in the current local plan review. Almost all are proposed to be built on greenfield sites. We do not agree that that this level of development is necessary, sustainable, or desirable. We call on SBC to work with neighbouring authorities to keep development in Swale to a minimum and to challenge Government housing targets. Whilst we acknowledge that an up-to-date local plan is the best defence against large, speculative planning applications, the plan must provide for sustainable development appropriate for the climate and ecological emergency we are living through.
What are Swale Greens doing to make things better? Our elected councillors have worked with our coalition partners at SBC to develop more ecologically sensitive policies for the Local Plan Review, to provide better homes for residents and to deliver a fairer supply of affordable homes for local people. SBC has set up a company to build homes for social rent in Swale. We are working to improve air-quality (e.g. developing the infrastructure for electric vehicle charging), encourage active travel (e.g. Faversham 20 mph zone), and reduce car ownership (e.g. set up car clubs). Our councillors continue to challenge unsustainable development in the countryside. Having a ‘Green in the room’ changes the conversation and help galvanises support for more progressive policy decisions across a range of issues, often across party lines.
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