Tom Tugendhat vows to intervene if St Mary's Abbey, West Malling homes are approved
11:22, 28 August 2019
updated: 11:23, 28 August 2019
The fight against plans to build homes next to a 10th century abbey is heating up.
A planning inquiry on Bellway's proposal to build 65 homes in the shadow of St Mary's Abbey, West Malling, is set to end tomorrow.
The decision will then be left to a planning inspector, but should they be approved, Tonbridge and Malling's MP says he's ready to intervene.
In his weekly Kent Messenger column, Tom Tugendhat said: "The planning inspector is independent and has to make her decision based on the planning merits of the case, nothing else. And my influence, as your MP, is limited. If she follows correct process, then her decision will stand. That’s why I don’t get involved in planning, the law doesn’t let me change the outcome.
“I don’t see how this application can go through. The arguments are so clear and the cost to the community so obvious that I firmly expect only one answer.
"But as we all know, decisions can go the way we least expect. So, I am preparing to ask the Secretary of State to review the application personally. This would be the final chance for the community to have their say and for the right decision to be reached. Let’s hope we don’t need it."
Benedictine nuns have warned they could leave the abbey if plans were approved.
Mother abbess Mary David told planning inspector Frances Mahoney: "If the noise and the general busyness prevent us from living our life and prevents the guests from having quietness and spaciousness, we would think about leaving."
Bellway dropped its original suggestion of 80 homes down to 65, around 40% of which it says will be affordable.
The inquiry will end tomorrow, followed by a site visit on Friday.
