Broke Hill Planning Application
Dear Member,
Those of you who were at the AGM last week will know that we discussed the proposed Broke Hill plans and that Mike Botting and Angela Page were to attend a public meeting in Halstead to hear a local briefing. Below are Mike's notes from that meeting.
Should you wish to comment on these plans, please do so on the Sevenoaks planning portal:
Dear all,
Last night Councillor Angela Page and I attended a public meeting in Halstead Village hall attended by well over a hundred residents from Halstead and several from Wards within Orpington Constituency to discuss the further application to develop the former Broke Hill golf club in Sevenoaks on the borders of Chelsfield Ward. A previous similar application in 2022 failed when it was refused by the planning Inspector.
The implications of this proposed development has currently taken over as one of the most discussed issues from residents with Angela and me.
All comments made by residents of the Halstead and Orpington area last night were negative. This was supported by local action groups, local and district councillors.
Whilst I appreciate that not everyone may wish to object to this proposed development, in the words of several local Halstead residents, this is going to affect Orpington residents if approved, in particular Chelsfield residents, more than it will affect them. The rationale behind this comment is firstly transport in the sense of British rail as Knockholt Station which is actually in our Ward has limited footfall and will naturally push any commuters wishing to go to London to Chelsfield or Orpington Stations. With other developments in the local Sevenoaks area the traffic on our roads is going to increase exponentially especially during the development stage and the with resident traffic when completed.
Whilst the development has provision for a school (apparently there are already sufficient school places in Sevenoaks) and a care home, it has no provision for a GP surgery, dental care or indeed any medical facilities with the nearest hospital being the PRUH, which will obviously be used in preference to Kent hospitals.
The proximity of the proposed development on the boarders of our Ward will effectively join Sevenoaks with Greater London, creating an urban sprawl.
The developer has stated that the development would be on Grey Belt fields but in fact the golf course has been deemed to be good quality green belt land. The fundamental aim of Green Belt is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the essential characteristics of Green belts are their openness and permanence.
Please see notes from last night's meeting with reference numbers and instructions on how to comment should you feel so inclined. My apologies for the quality of the notes as my scanner is not working.
Can I please ask you to forward as you feel appropriate.
Kind Regards,
Mike Botting
Councillor for Chelsfield Ward
07976 280 511
mike.botting@bromley.gov.uk