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New 10,000 homes Otterpool Park town served by one medical centre

12:00, 27 March 2018

updated: 15:50, 28 March 2018

The masterplan for Otterpool Park Garden Town has been unveiled - and it includes one health centre for 10,000 homes.

Blueprints for the ambitious 357-acres development to be built around Folkestone Racecourse in the next 30 years will also include eight schools and 11 nurseries.

And as landowners Cozumel Estates and Shepway District Council (SDC) push their eco-friendly agenda – 40% of the land shows as green space – plans over healthcare remain sketchy.

Otterpool master plan
Otterpool master plan

Just one space for a health centre has been flagged next to Westenhanger Station near Stone Street named 'Gateway' – where homes, bus, rail, park and ride, businesses, a hotel, cafes, restaurants and shops will also be built.

However Andy Jarrett, SDC's head of strategic development projects said in a statement the town will enable healthy lives and the masterplan reflects residents' needs.

"We want to do more than just provide the homes we need in Shepway. We will invest to create a thriving community where people can live a happy, healthy life from birth to old age.

"The feedback we've received from the Shepway community so far has allowed us to create a masterplan that reflects the ideas and needs of our residents and employers and will go a long a way in helping us achieve our ambition of a garden town for all," he said.

Arcadis's artist impression of how Otterpool Park will look
Arcadis's artist impression of how Otterpool Park will look

The deepening crisis over the GP shortage in Shepway has been widely documented.

South Kent Coast Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) last year received an application to close patient lists from eight surgeries citing fears over patient safety.

Otterpool Park, which has received government funding, was put forward to "address the desperate need for housing" in the area.

An artist's impression of how the finished Otterpool Park will look at ground level
An artist's impression of how the finished Otterpool Park will look at ground level

Originally designed for 12,000 homes, a review by Montagu Evans now recommends the council slash the number by 2,000 houses.

The report available on the SDC's website said if 12,000 homes were to built half of them would have to be flats.

Parks, bridleways, river walks, woodlands, allotments and orchards make up 40% of the space according to the plans.

An artist's impression of how the finished Otterpool Park will look at ground level
An artist's impression of how the finished Otterpool Park will look at ground level

And new transport links will connect people to the area's "rich heritage and history" according to a spokesman for the project.

In a statement they said: "The garden town principles that guide the design means that green outdoor space forms a major part of the plans, emphasising healthy living and wellbeing.

The Folkestone Racecourse site
The Folkestone Racecourse site

"New transport links will be provided for walkers, cyclists and road users, opening up the landscape, and connections to Otterpool Park's rich heritage and history will be re-established."

Recommended for approval, the blueprints will go before SDC's cabinet committee on Wednesday.

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