Urban Initiatives were appointed by Shepway Council and the Homes and Community Agency to produce a masterplan for the village of Sellindge. This process was commissioned to engage with local people to establish a consensual approach to change and improvements. It covers areas such as new houses, developed facilities and benefits for our Village. A number of key observations were made at the start as part of Urban Initiatives place check exercise:
- The lack of a village centre or heart
- The physical and social disconnection between various areas of the village
- Improvements the residents would like to see to improve the quality and safety of the A20 such as crossing points and traffic calming
The 250 houses recommended by Urban Initiatives and accepted by some villagers allows for the benefits described above together with some others. However in our survey we found that 92% of the Village want no more than 100 houses built here over the next 15 years.
What we need to do when looking at the Questionnaire (at the top of the 2nd coloured section down in the right hand column) is carefully consider Options A and B (explained on Exhibition Board 5 – see Urban Initiatives website www.sellindgefuture.org.uk (its Panel 5 is in the Downloads section) or (its in the 2nd coloured section down in the right-hand column). See whether these fully and properly address the above benefits. It could be suggested that the 250 houses are too widely spread and do not relate to the Village Green and community feel, and that anyway 250 houses are far too many. (nearly a 50% increase). We might also think that the village green is not designed as well as the version produced by Sellindge’s Bob Edden. Furthermore, we do not know what the priorities are – the village green with some houses around or something else? Maybe you feel strongly that another solution is what Sellindge needs possibly like the Village Team’s plan offered to Urban Initiatives at the start of the process – see the Exhibition Board 3 in the 2nd coloured section down in the right-hand column.
We realise there is not much time but the timetable is given by Home and Communities who are funding this process. We must all give our views to Urban Initiatives to be received by Friday January 7th to make sure they are part of the process and Urban Initiatives hear what the local residents really think.
- Print the questionnaire (black and white) by clicking on the link at the top of the 2nd coloured section down in the right-hand column
- Complete in pen, and then
- Put in the post using the FREEPOST address (or if you prefer using a first class stamp)
by early next week Our Village Needs Your Views!!!
If you have any questions please contact Dave Motley via dave@davemotley.co.uk
To return to here, after clicking on the links in the right hand column, just click on the back arrow at the top left of the page.
