OPPOSITION TO 28 BED HOTEL IN KINGSHILL, WEST MALLING
January 31, 2005 3:26 PM
Proposed 28 Bed Hotel and Conference/Function Rooms On Practice Ground
Over 60 protesters attended last Thursday's meeting (27 January) of the Planning Committee of Kings Hill Parish Council. They packed the meeting room and stood in the corridors outside to voice their opposition to the proposed 28 bed hotel and conference/function rooms on practice ground belonging to the golf club, on Discovery Drive. The golf club has submitted the application for the hotel, which it wants in order to run residential golf courses at the club. Many of the protesters told the Parish Council that golf club members opposed the application, but had no influence with the owners of the club, which was simply a commercial enterprise.
County Councillor for Kings Hill, Lib Dem Trudy Dean, spoke at the meeting, advising residents about the strongest grounds for objection. She said: "Unfortunately planning law does not allow you to buy the view from your house, however much you might object to it being ruined by development. However, the plan is to build the hotel on a designated, important open green space, which is protected for its landscape and green lung value. The area is also one of few areas left locally where skylarks, a protected species, breed well. The hotel also plans to use existing golf club parking which is already often full. These are all valid grounds for objection."
Residents told the Parish Council of their concern about late night noise disturbance; the golf club has in the past sent letters to local residents apologising to them about noise at forthcoming late night parties. A school governor also pointed out that children attending both Kings Hill primary schools pass through the junction serving the golf club, and additional car movement and on-street parking would be an additional danger.
Members of the Parish Council Planning Committee supported residents and agreed to submit these objections to Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, the Planning Authority, which will make its decision on the application in March.