Visitors and members of the public who are unfamiliar with the building and procedures are advised that:

(a)      The fire alarm is a continuous loud ringing. In the event that a fire drill is planned during the meeting, the Chair will advise of this.

(b)      Exit routes from the chamber are located on each side of the room, one directly to a fire escape, the other to the stairs opposite the lifts.

(c)      In the event of the alarm sounding, leave the building via the nearest safe exit and gather at the assembly point on the far side of the car park. Do not leave the assembly point or re-enter the building until advised to do so. Do not use the lifts.

(d)      Anyone unable to use the stairs should make themselves known during this agenda item.

The Chair outlined the emergency evacuation procedure.

Councillors should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their families or friends.

The Chair will ask Members if they have any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) or disclosable non-pecuniary interests (DNPIs) to declare in respect of items on the agenda. Members with a DPI in an item must leave the room for that item and may not participate in the debate or vote. 

Aside from disclosable interests, where a fair-minded and informed observer would think there was a real possibility that a Member might be biased or predetermined on an item, the Member should declare this and leave the room while that item is considered.

Members who are in any doubt about interests, bias or predetermination should contact the monitoring officer for advice prior to the meeting.

Councillor Lloyd Chapman said that whilst he was a ward member he was considering the application as a Member of the Planning Committee.

Councillor Simon Clark declared a disclosable non-pecuniary interest as he knew the previous occupiers of Parsonage Chase, Bobbing.  He said he was open-minded about the application.

Tabled update published 16.14 Thursday 26 March 2026.

PART 2

Applications for which PERMISSION is recommended

The Planning Consultant introduced the application as set out in the report.  He referred to the tabled update and stated that the Public Protection Officer comments on the applicant’s Air Quality submission had been received.  The Public Protection Officer stated “she had reviewed the applicant’s comparison of the Environmental Statement Traffic Data with the updated Traffic Data and the updated flows would not cause a significant impact, and that the Environmental Statement for this application can still be considered valid for noise and air quality”.  Two further letters of objection had been received, one reiterated comments already covered in the committee report and tabled update.  The other focused on ecology matters which he summarised for Members as follows:  the developers assessment and other documents could not be relied on as they were not independent; there was much that was not known about the ecology of the area; Kent County Council (KCC) Ecology were relying on the developers ecologist who were unreliable as there were hares on the site that had not been identified; there was too much risk granting permission for applications without more reliable reports; the assertion that badgers were only a protected species because of welfare concerns is misleading, they are protected as they are persecuted including by developers;  the developer should consult local badger groups; skylark mitigation was a serious cause for concern given experiences with the Wises Lane development, without enforcement any skylark mitigation conditions cannot be accepted; there was currently a crisis of biodiversity loss and the Government’s warnings of ecological collapse yet protections for habitats and biodiversity were weakening.  In response, the Planning Consultant reiterated that KCC’s Ecologist had raised no objections in relation to ecology and biodiversity.

Parish Councillor Gareth Randall, representing Bobbing Parish Council, spoke against the application.

Parish Councillor Steve Tolhurst, representing Iwade Parish Council, spoke against the application.

Parish Councillor Mike Brown, representing Eastchurch Parish Council, spoke against the application.

Parish Councillor Lee Small, representing Borden Parish Council, spoke against the application.

Parish Councillor Gaynor Bidgood, representing Leysdown Parish Council, spoke against the application.

Rebecca Duffus, an Objector, spoke against the application.

David Morris, representative of the applicant, spoke in support of the application.

The Chairman moved the officer recommendation to grant planning permission as per the recommendation in the report, and this was seconded by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 853.

The meeting was adjourned at 7.06 pm until 7.16 pm, 8.11 pm until 8.17 pm and 9.27 pm until 9.37 pm.

At 10 pm and 10.30 pm, Members agreed to the suspension of Standing Orders in order that the Committee could complete its business.