Brickfields
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ECE Planning
ECE Planning led the strategic promotion of land adjacent to Staplehurst Railway Station on behalf of Croudace Homes Ltd, for a landscape-led residential scheme of up to 500 homes. The site was promoted through the Maidstone Local Plan Review, with ECE preparing comprehensive Regulation 18 and 19 representations, drafting hearing statements, and actively participating in the Local Plan Examination in Public.
Acting as project lead, ECE Planning coordinated a multidisciplinary consultant team to masterplan the site and resolve key constraints, including landscape character, odour from nearby uses, and highway impacts. A robust pre-application submission was made to Maidstone Borough Council, supported by a detailed design synopsis and technical evidence, culminating in a formal request for officer engagement to help shape development principles.
A key aspect of the promotion work involved an assessment of local infrastructure capacity to demonstrate the site’s suitability and inform decisions around potential provision of social infrastructure within the scheme.
ECE ensured early and sustained dialogue with the local authority and carefully managed stakeholder inputs to align the emerging proposal with both national and local policy. This strategic approach demonstrated the site’s sustainable, deliverable credentials and helped secure its consideration as a sound allocation.
